Lavan Arulnayagam

By: Lavan Arulnayagam

I help people breathe—literally. As a respiratory therapist (RT), I’m there when patients need life support in critical moments or when they simply need the oxygen that keeps them alive. We often work behind the scenes, but we’re present in some of the most crucial moments of a patient’s life.

The most rewarding part? Seeing someone survive a catastrophic event and walk out of the ICU. The hardest? When, despite everything, we can’t save them. Every day, though, I know we’re making a difference.

My name is Lavan Arulnayagam, and I’ve been a proud Scarborough kid for over 30 years. Growing up just minutes away from Scarborough General, I never imagined I’d one day be working there as an RT—a career that lets me care for the very community that raised me. Not many people know about RTs, but I like to think of us as the unsung superheroes of healthcare—always ready to answer the call, like Batman with a set of gadgets, then disappearing before anyone notices.

I trained across Toronto and even worked abroad in Africa, but when the pandemic hit, I knew I had to come back home. Scarborough was one of the hardest-hit COVID hotspots, and RTs were scarce. I felt a responsibility to step in, to help my community with the skills I had built over the years. The pandemic was our war, and we were on the frontlines every single day.

What makes me proud is the way our teams work together, even when we don’t have much. Sometimes, as RTs, physicians, and critical care staff, we’re treating patients with limited resources. But we don’t let that affect our mood or our morale. We still grind. We still show up for our patients and for the people of Scarborough.

That’s why I believe so strongly in what we could achieve if we had more. If we had the same resources and funding that other hospitals have, I know we could accomplish so much more for our community. I’ve seen firsthand what Scarborough healthcare workers can do under pressure and with limited tools. Imagine what we could do with the right support behind us.

To me, Love, Scarborough means exactly what it says. If you’re from here, you carry this pride, this resilience, and this deep sense of belonging. For me, this isn’t just a job. It’s personal. This is my home, and these are my people. And every day, I’m proud to show up for them.

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