Dear CHN heart families,
It is with tremendous sadness we share the below news. We know that many of our families have been touched by Eustace and his devotion to our children.
This weekend, BC Children’s Hospital lost one of our “greats.” Eustace De Souza passed away from complications of a medical condition on Friday, January 29. We cannot express our sadness anywhere nearly as well as his eldest daughter, Astrid can:
It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my dad, Eustace De Souza, on January 29, 2021. Starting as a pediatric echocardiographer in 1980 at Vancouver General Hospital and then moving to BC Children’s Hospital when it opened in 1982, he has spent the entirety of his 40 year career dedicated to providing care to the children and families seen in Cardiology. With a loud voice that echoed the hallways and sometimes a brusque personality that not everyone understood, his big compassionate heart was always focused on the kids who he enjoyed watching grow up from babes to adults. He could often be heard making chicken “sounds” or singing to babies as he was doing their echoes or “chewing the fat” (as he called it) with the most difficult teens.
As I followed in his footsteps into the field of pediatric cardiology, it has been my greatest joy to “peek around the corner” and watch him interact with his patients. I have heard countless stories from old patients who found out that I was his daughter and just had to share their memories of him. I stood and stared a few months ago as I watched him with a 4-year-old in a purple princess dress, a wand and a tiara who was talking his ear off. I knew that was a moment I needed to cherish.
His other passion in his profession has been teaching echo to the many pediatric cardiology trainees who have come across his path. He would get excited every July when the new fellows started and I watched as they gravitated towards him. His love for the field and his constant quest to understand more was unwavering.
The halls are going to feel a bit empty without him around anymore but he looms large in those that he trained and more importantly by his patients and their families who were graced by his presence.
We will put some thought into how to honour the wonderful contributions Eustace has made to pediatric cardiology and BC Children’s Hospital.