All in the Family… An Exceptional Family of Doctors

Family Doctor: Drs. Johnny Keaveny and Terry O’Keeffe

In my family all five of us see a husband/wife couple. The males see the man of the house and the females see the lady doctor. This married couple are not only skilled and compassionate doctors but an asset to our community which struggles to retain doctors due to its rural, remote nature.

Several years ago my son fell off the slide in the school playground and suffered a concussion. Our family doctor stayed with him in hospital, phoned our home in the evening, the next morning and the next Saturday from a hockey tournament he was attending with his own son. He gave us not only his home phone number but also his cell number. A few years later, my daughter was experiencing some unusual symptoms. Her doctor did not rest until she scheduled a specialist via telehealth and a follow up face-to-face appointment in the city. When we arrived at the city clinic the staff there said “How did you get an appointment here so quickly? Most people wait much longer to get in to see the specialist!” I do not know what strings our magical family doctor pulled, but she was able to get my daughter on the road to recovery. Maybe because she delivered my daughter she also felt she needed to stick by her into adulthood!

Finally, this married couple lost their house and everything they owned in the Slave Lake wildfires. They returned to our community with nothing and continued to work at their medical practice as they rebuilt their home while many others left.

Here’s to you, Johnny Keaveny and Terry O’Keeffe!

Thanks for sticking with the people of Slave Lake!