To be frank, I’m a bit of a walking disaster when it comes to my health. I didn’t go into medicine knowing I would fall apart physically, though my experience having children— all three being high-risk pregnancies—led me to focus on maternal-fetal medicine.

I’ve delivered about 20,000 babies, many of them over the last 12 years in Victoria. It brings me great joy to support bringing life into the world, and provide comfort and answers to families going through difficult pregnancies. I use imaging tools every day to help mothers and babies—and am grateful for the clarity it provides.

Medical imaging is the gateway to the human body, and in my own healthcare journey it has empowered my care teams to do the right things for the right reasons.

In 2014, I was diagnosed with a rare condition called “Ehler-Danlos,” following a hysterectomy. Essentially, my tissues don’t heal properly and my joints are really loose. It’s likely the reason I developed an infection six weeks after surgery; I was very sick and couldn’t bear any weight on my hip.

A CT scan revealed no issues with the joint, but my care teams warned the condition could spark future issues. And they were right.

Several years later, severe back pain prompted the need for more imaging. Through MRI, a scary sight emerged: an “aortic aneurysm,” which is a large bulge in wall of my body’s main artery. I was admitted to the ICU at Royal Jubilee Hospital. Using a precise scan of my heart and arteries, my care teams opted to monitor the aneurysm through ultrasound every two years, rather than operate.

Ahead of one of those regularly scheduled appointments in April of 2020, I began experiencing pain on the right side of my stomach. To my care team’s greatest surprise, a CT scan with IV contrast revealed a mass on my right kidney. Surgery was promptly set to remove my kidney at Royal Jubilee Hospital. Thankfully, the tumour was benign, and I now rely upon MRI to monitor both my aneurysm and kidney.

Through these health challenges, I have been overwhelmed with gratitude for the access to powerful imaging tools right here on the Island. This technology has guided my doctors in crafting care plans for me so I can return to my family and the work I love. As a care provider and a patient, I believe imaging is as close to a crystal ball as we’ll ever have in medicine.

Thank you for considering championing Imaging is Power, and supporting Vancouver Island patients and caregivers just like me.

—Dr. Hayley Bos
Grateful patient and Medical Director of Maternity for Island Health