Story Posted: 2025-05-21
Through the Power of Many: BK Ultrasound
Pictured: Ruby Dyck.
For Ruby Dyck, living with gratitude is a fundamental pillar of life. She reflects that "all of us are subject to tragedy, but there are, considering all the things that can go wrong in life, a lot of things that go right. Those are the things we need to appreciate and, in return, develop a sense of gratitude. Once you're able to do that, it is easy to help others."
One deeply impactful way that Ruby expresses this gratitude is through health care philanthropy, having contributed more than $340,000 to St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation over the past decade. Her support has extended to several critical initiatives, including a recent gift to the By Your Side Kidney Care Campaign as well as generous support of the Close to Home Campaign for End-of-Life Care, the purchase of da Vinci Surgical Robot “Daryl,” and the acquisition of a BK Ultrasound system, which was purchased to complement the robot.
When Ruby first learned of the impact the BK Ultrasound would have on patients and surgical teams, it made perfect sense to support the new equipment. In November of 2023, the Foundation’s Christmas Dove Letter was sent to our community seeking support for the ultrasound. In total, 583 individuals responded with thoughtful gifts toward the equipment, and Ruby generously agreed to match every gift up to $100,000. Including Ruby’s donation, nearly $225,700 was raised, demonstrating both the giving nature of the Foundation’s donors and the inspirational impact that Ruby’s generosity had on others.
Pictured (l-r): Amanda Dumond and Sean Peace, OR RNs, with the BK Ultrasound
Because of this initiative, the dream of the BK Ultrasound was fulfilled, with the technology arriving at the Hospital in 2024. Its impact was immediate.
The BK Ultrasound assists in robotic surgeries, helping highly trained surgeons to locate and visualize tumours, arteries, and other body structures with the best possible precision, all without invasive surgery. The ultrasound has expanded "Daryl’s" scope, allowing surgeons to perform procedures that might not otherwise be possible; many partial nephrectomies (a procedure used to remove kidney tumours) are only possible with the robot if the BK Ultrasound is present. Because many partial nephrectomies have been performed robotically instead of through traditional surgery, patients have been able to leave the hospital an average of four days sooner after their procedure. For patients, loved ones, and our health care system, this shortened stay in the Hospital is invaluable.
Additionally, the BK Ultrasound has contributed to the overall success of the provincial Surgical Robotics Program. Wonderfully summarized by Dr. Varun Bathini, Provincial Lead of Surgical Robotics and Assistant Professor with the Department of Surgery at U of S, this "has been the most successful robotic surgery launch in Canada in terms of the number of cases combined with the number of specialties using it." Because of the success of the first robot and the Surgical Robotics Program, the Ministry of Health secured a second robot for St. Paul’s Hospital, which arrived in early November.
With the support of donors like Ruby and all those who contributed to the da Vinci Surgical Robot and BK Ultrasound, the giving nature of our community is changing the landscape of health care in our province. Ruby has already met people who have benefited from the Surgical Robotics Program and BK Ultrasound, and explains that they are "ecstatic this is being done here, and that they were able to spend such a short time in hospital … it’s very rewarding to have benefited people that you personally know."
"You have to find a cause that’s close to your heart,” Ruby concludes. “That’s the number one thing for me. As you age, you would like to change the world, but that’s not possible. So one little thing at a time; this is just a way of giving back and hopefully helping somebody else along the way.”