The Editor,

A group of friends and I recently met at the Newton Swiss Chalet restaurant, to celebrate 40 years of friendship.

One member of our group has serious health issues and we were very glad when she was able to join us. We enjoyed a tasty meal and had reached the "remember when" part of the evening. Suddenly, our friend with the medical issues had an episode where she was fighting for breath and was obviously in great distress. Our server Darlene attended immediately, informing us that she was the one on shift with a First Aid qualification.

She was kind and reassuring and helped to calm the situation. An ambulance was called and both firefighters and, soon afterward, ambulance personnel arrived and quickly and professionally dealt with the situation.

Our friend was transferred to Surrey Memorial Hospital, where she spent the night and was stabilized and well cared for and discharged next day.

I want to express our gratitude for such excellent care. We were all so impressed by Darlene’s solicitous and mature attitude.

To everyone who demonstrated concern and caring and help, a big thank you. We have many local heroes among us who enrich our lives.

Marilyn Christensen June, Maureen, Betty and Kay