“Nov 2016 – Sept 23, 2017
I had stopped by the local bakery in the town of Hafford, Saskatchewan before on a different assignment elsewhere. This time I was on my way, 500 km’s one way to the unknown. I did my homework and had written down all the towns I needed to pass to get there. A new experience started when I met Julie, another Solutions travel nurse previous to me. She had expected me. On the 1st evening, we chatted till the wee hours, exchanging stories.
On the 1st dayshift I was welcomed with ‘ Oh you’re the new nurse’. I saw you last night coming into town because ….. she had driven behind me!!!
I worked in Hafford for 3 contracts, spanning 9 months continuously.
In this period, I got to experience all seasons in Saskatchewan; winter; spring with millions of Canada geese coming in; farmers seeding their crops; summer and harvest time. In the meantime I looked after retired farmers at the Hafford Special Care Centre, where I met their families and heard their life stories. I learned and visited the ‘Crooked Bush’, the local version of a tourist attraction. On my days off, I travelled back and forth to Edmonton, AB; travelled to Saskatoon and cycled 40 km on the Meewasin trail on both sides of the river; I visited Batoche historic site and build a skating rink on a local pond. When I went to the town hall and spoke with the town administrator to invite more people to skate, he responded: ‘Do you have insurance?’. I left it at that and enjoyed my own speed skating adventures.
My house was only a 3-minute walk to work. Over time, I became good friends with a few co-workers. They took me waterskiing. I did chores on the farm a few times; enjoyed hot tubbing; saw 6 deer along the road within 8 km on a cycling trip at sunset and enjoyed my dog Marley, who came with me on several occasions. My friends in town knew a bottle of wine or a brewsky was ready to be sipped on any time. Frequently someone stopped in.
I look back on a great time in Hafford, Saskatchewan.
In the meantime, I traveled to Kenya (3 weeks), Netherlands ( 3 weeks), Spain (1 week), 2 trips to Seattle USA and Sunshine Coast (5 days)
Life as a travel nurse is great. Like Jenn L. said before: “I feel in charge of my life. I can choose when and where I work and have a lot of fun”
John van den Bijgaart
Edmonton”
