Over the past twenty-five years, Barbara has spoken, lectured, or taught to over 200 organizations. From inspirational and motivating talks about living a purposeful life with multiple sclerosis to sharing the incredible story of Canada’s bomb girls, from lecturing about heart transplantation to teaching about life in Upper Canada during the early 19th century, Barbara’s public speaking platform offers an opportunity for everyone.
Hundreds of thousands of Canadians—predominantly women—toiled in wartime factories while their loved ones fought overseas during the Second World War. Barbara’s passion lies in commemorating these courageous women who worked in the home front, especially those who worked with high explosives in munitions factories. She founded the Bomb Girls Legacy Foundation in September 2023, its mandate clear – to remember Canada’s Bomb Girls and the dedication each worker brought to her job, the love she gave to her family, and the duty she felt for “King and Country” to bring peace to the world. Fate oft-times delivered news no one wanted to hear – that a husband, brother, son, or grandson had been killed, wounded, or captured by the enemy.
In Barbara’s acclaimed presentation enjoyed and moved by tens of thousands, she provides an extensive background on wartime work in Canada, introduces audiences to bomb girls—women whose life stories often bring a tear to the eye—and speaks to the critical work that needs to be done in Canada to ensure this tenacious, brave generation of women are not lost to the passage of time. There’s no time to lose. Audiences rush to meet with Barbara after her presentations, eager to connect with Barbara, and, in some sense, connect with our forebears whose sacrifice helped win the war.
When Barbara received her MS diagnosis in 1992, she faced a future that offered little hope; no disease-modifying treatments were available. She spent 18 months thoughtfully working through the stages of grief: disbelief, anger, negotiation, and finally acceptance. She joined many MS-related organizations and MS-focused community groups. She nurtured a wide circle of MS friends. One dear friend, Terry, told her that “MS doesn’t have to be a mess.” Terry lives with the ravages of MS; yet lives in hope. He is Barbara’s inspiration.
Barbara has shared her story of MS to a multitude of MS-related, faith-based, and community organizations. She offers a story of hope and strength amid life’s storms.
Tune into Terry’s exhilarating podcasts:
Barbara gave her youngest daughter, Emily two middle names: Olive for her grandmother who she would never know – Olive was already dying when Emily was born – and Hope for the hope that Emily offered – new life amid a recent MS diagnosis.
“Hope” would become sweeter and more profound as Emily grew. Emily started experiencing chest pain when she was 8 years old in 2003. What followed was a decade of shuffling from specialist to specialist, all trying to figure out where the discomfort deep in her chest originated. They knew she had a heart murmur but assured her that she’d probably grow out of it by puberty. Doctors offered her much advice such as “Don’t drink caffeine” and “You need to exercise more.” And this more ominous suggestion, “Don’t worry. Lots of teenage girls get ‘twinges’ in their chest.” Every ECG done came back abnormal with scary words like “atrial fibrillation,” “ischemia,” and “suspect long QT syndrome.”
Fast forward to 2013 – barely nineteen-year-old Emily awaits a heart transplant. After ten years of puzzling heart symptoms, she was diagnosed with a rare heart condition called Congenital Idiopathic Restrictive Cardiomyopathy. Her mother, Barbara watched, heartbroken, as her beautiful daughter fought to keep living. A scholarship university student, who had the world before her, Emily found it exhausting to shower and dress, to cuddle her little nephews, to climb stairs. She lived on borrowed time. Sudden cardiac death at any moment is always a difficult prognosis to face. Her team of doctors at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at Toronto General Hospital did everything humanly possible to keep her stable, including inserting a pacemaker, and listing her for transplant in November 2013. Her only chance to live lay in the generous, selfless act of organ donation.
Emily received the gift of life on September 23, 2014, exactly 10 months after listing. She spent one month in hospital and returned to university the following year.
As it turned out, Emily’s heart condition was so rare, her story appeared in JAMA—Journal of the American Medical Association.
Today, Emily lives a purposeful life, 11 years post-transplant. Armed with an Arts and Humanities education, she weaves stories, crafting both fiction and non-fiction.
Barbara and Emily are writing a book about Emily’s heart transplant journey, entitled, At the Heart of Hope.
