University of Alberta pharmacy student Raegan Abrey's sense of empathy for her patients is more than just part of the job she's training for. It comes from hard-won experience with a health scare of her own.
It was a twist of fate that knocked the promising young student off her planned path in life, and then brought her back to exactly where she wants to be - delivering high-quality health care to Indigenous and rural Albertans.
Abrey was just 18 years old, studying science at Concordia University in Edmonton, drawn north from her hometown of Coaldale in southern Alberta with a basketball scholarship. In the spring of 2019, she caught a cold she just couldn't shake.
One day her vision was blurry and her speech was slurred. She could barely eat or walk. Abrey went to the emergency department, but instead of giving her a diagnosis, the doctors sent her home.
Her mother flew in the next day and took her daughter back to hospital. This time, her story was believed.
Abrey was admitted and eventually diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can lead to paralysis. One or two people in every 100,000 develop the syndrome each year, according to the GBS Foundation of Canada
"Symptoms can be resolved in two weeks or in two years, or you could have lasting effects for the rest of your life," Abrey recalls. "I went from being a post-secondary athlete to not even being able to walk. I had double vision for six months. It was a tough mental health go for a little bit there."
The illness brought Abrey's university studies to a halt. She went home to her parents' place east of Lethbridge to recover. Then COVID hit, forcing everyone to stay home. She felt like she was in a kind of limbo state.
Abrey was picking up a prescription at the Coaldale pharmacy one day in September 2020 when she was offered a job as an assistant. It seemed like a way to make some money and pass the time, so she took it.
It was nothing less than a prescription to get her future back.
She'd had a vague idea after her time in the hospital that she might like to work in health care, but she hadn't thought of pharmacy. She soon found she loved making connections with patients, especially the kids. The pharmacist told Abrey, "You interact with patients so well that I think you could be a very, very good pharmacist."
"I got lots of hands-on experience and I just fell in love with what pharmacists do," Abrey says. "I'm not just providing a service for you. I'm actually making a connection with you and taking care of you."
Abrey took another year's worth of science prerequisites at the University of Lethbridge and was "ready to venture off into the world again."
A proud Indigenous and rural focus
Abrey was admitted as one of three Indigenous pharmacy students at the U of A last fall. She is a member of the Otipemisiwak Métis Nation.
"I'm very proud of my heritage. My grandma was bullied for the complexion of her skin," Abrey says. "So to come down just a generation to be so proud of who I am, it's a very big step.
"I'm just very passionate about Indigenous health," Abrey says.
