After almost three years, Bernice Sutherland finally got to see her family.
Sutherland, who grew up in Moosonee, works at a hospital in Jacksonville, Fla.
Back in March 2020, she was planning to take a vacation for three weeks to visit her family, celebrate her 50th birthday and her grandson’s first birthday. That's when the pandemic hit.
Since then, she’s tried to return home at least four times but has been facing travel restrictions and pandemic-related challenges.
Recently, she spent about three weeks at home in the north eating traditional food, spending time at a friend’s cabin and going snowmobiling and ice fishing.
During her trip, she enjoyed a goose dinner with dumplings, fresh walleye, caribou and a moose meat dinner. With laughter, Sutherland added she didn't miss the snow.
“Going back to my roots, eating the traditional food, the wild meat, I missed that,” she said. “Going ice fishing, I love doing all that stuff. I love being up there. That to me was so nice. It calms you.”
On her way to the north, she made a stop in Timmins to decompress after a long flight and spend two days with her sister. Originally, she and her niece were going to take the Wetum Road but the heat in the car didn’t work, so Sutherland ended up taking the Polar Bear Express to Moosonee.
Sutherland didn’t get to see her two brothers but she had a chance to reunite with her two sons, nieces, her grandson and her newborn granddaughter.
She stayed close within her family bubble and didn’t get to see the hospital in Moose Factory where she first started working as a nurse.
“It was so nice seeing everybody, I so needed it,” she said.
Up north, Sutherland was shocked at the high grocery prices. She said she’d buy food for the family every other day and it would cost about $100.
“I did a lot of cooking, I did a lot of cleaning,” she said laughing.
Sutherland took a PCR test before leaving for Canada and it was supposed to be ready within 24 to 48 hours. She was at the Jacksonville airport waiting for the test results and ended up staying at the airport for 12 hours.
Before leaving to go back to Florida, she was having trouble finding rapid tests in Timmins. A friend advised her to get a rapid test at Walmart. After her arrival back in Jacksonville, she took another rapid test that was negative.
“I’m just trying to get myself organized being home and get back into the mentality of going back to work,” Sutherland said.
From the north, she brought home a watercolour painting done by her niece’s daughter. Next time, she wants to bring some Indigenous art with her.
Sutherland’s family told her not to wait so long to come back next time, so she is planning to visit the family again in May.
"I feel so much better," she said.
