Rajdai and Nikki are a mother-daughter nursing duo at Markham Stouffville Hospital.
Raj — as she is mostly known by — works in Medicine/Oncology and Nikki works in the float pool. Raj and Nikki have always been close, but their common interest in nursing and patient care has added another depth to their relationship.
Raj had gone back to school after a long time spent focused on family life, and while she juggled married life and three children at home, Raj completed the schooling necessary to become a nurse. Raj always came home and shared stories about her day at work, and although very tired at times, always reinforced the privilege she felt to be able to help someone in their time of need. Nikki always wanted a job helping people, and hearing her mother’s stories inspired her to also pursue the same profession.
“It is a great pleasure to work alongside each other because it is nice to have someone close to you who completely understands the type of work we do,” said Raj.
Throughout the pandemic, Raj and Nikki have been inspired by their fellow nurse colleagues, physicians and interdisciplinary team members, who continue to go to work and provide care for their patients, with the knowledge of the added risk involved for their families at home.
Nikki shared: “We were able to experience the happiness of receiving the vaccine together. To us both, it was the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Since Raj and Nikki live together, they were fortunate to continue to be able to see each other during the pandemic, both at work and at home.
When they are both off shift together at home, they enjoy cooking, baking and watching their favorite TV shows. The pandemic has meant that they have gotten to spend much more quality time together, and this year for Mother’s Day, they feel extra blessed to be able to be together to celebrate.