If it weren't for the quick actions of a helpful stranger, Penny McDonald might not be writing today. She might not even be alive.
McDonald was waiting for her granddaughter's soccer game to start in Lynn Valley Park on Sept. 15, 2013, when she suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm. Fortunately a man, who was with a woman and two children, heard her cries for help and immediately called 9-1-1. She had two life-saving surgeries at Vancouver General Hospital and, after three weeks in intensive care, she returned home to recover.
McDonald had a letter published in the North Shore News in November 2013 in which she thanked her savior, but she got no response.
Two years later, she has achieved a lifelong dream and published a youth mystery novel entitled The Emerald Collar, which she is launching on Friday, Sept. 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Lynn Valley library in the Community Room.
"While that may not be extraordinary for some people, it was a miracle for me," McDonald says.
She is hopeful the man who came to her rescue (whose name started with a "J") will catch word of her book launch and get in touch. She says she would love to give one of her novels to him and his family.
McDonald adds she is "blessed to be able to work on a sequel" to the Emerald Collar. She plans to publish The Dolphin Ring next year.
