In my annual holiday greeting video to SUN members and the Saskatchewan public, I speak of three words that particularly resonate with me this holiday season – Gratitude, Hope and Unity.
Perhaps the most significant for me as president of our Union is the immense gratitude I feel for all of you, Saskatchewan’s 11,000 Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses and Nurse Practitioners.
Whether you have faced COVID-19 head-on in our ICUs, emergency rooms, COVID wards, long-term care facilities, and communities, or you have shown up every day to keep the wheels of our health system turning, you are one of the main reasons we will get through this pandemic.
You have kept hope alive when Saskatchewan was at its lowest. Your outright refusal to give up, even when faced with unimaginable mental and physical exhaustion, or the absurdities of the pandemic-denier movement, has fueled hope for all of us this past year. This fighting spirit is one of our province’s brightest beacons of hope.
For me, the word unity captures what I wish for the year ahead. It is through our collective resolve to do what’s right for ourselves and our neighbours that we will emerge from the grips of this pandemic.
By choosing to follow expert health advice, we fight this pandemic together – that’s the unity we need to carry forward into 2022.
At the end of the day, we must remember that we are a Saskatchewan family. We don’t always agree on everything, but when it counts, we support each other, we celebrate each other, and we grieve for one another. This year, many chairs around tables across the province will be empty for the first time, and we mourn with the families who have lost loved ones. I want you to know that our hearts are with you.
It is my sincere wish that this holiday season, we will all treat each other with kindness and be generous with our love – we have all been through so much.
Stay strong and Merry Christmas, everyone.
In solidarity,
Tracy Zambory, RN
SUN President
P.S. I know many of you are working through the holiday season and will not get to see your children open their gifts or will miss being with your loved ones. And I know some of you are picking up extra shifts to free up your colleagues to spend time with their families. To you, I say an extra thank you.
