The road that paved the way to Canada for Jassal family was no cakewalk, but as destiny would have it, they eventually found their home in the heart of Surrey, British Columbia. Here’s a candid conversation with Dr Sandeep Jassal who is now based in Canada, with his wife Pallavi, daughter Saanvi, and son Neil.
Why and when did you leave Chandigarh?
We moved to Vancouver, Canada as permanent residents for the first time in 2015 but preferred to move back after a few months due to my father’s sickness. We again went to Toronto the next year to check life on the eastern side of Canada. With a strong background as a couple in holistic healthcare and nutrition, we wanted to pursue similar careers in Canada as we were the best equipped in our own fields respectively.
I was fortunate to be accepted in a Doctorate program in Natural Medicine and my better half, Dt. Pallavi Jassal was fortunate to get certified as a Nutrition Manager. However, again we moved back because of our father’s health. He, unfortunately, passed away after being bedridden for 1 and a half years. The practice back home had picked up and was even better now, so we dropped the plans for Canada. It was in 2019 when a patient from Surrey came to our clinic in Chandigarh for a health and lifestyle plan. She found value in our expertise, and when she learned about our story, she strongly recommended us to reconsider our decision and not to sacrifice the PR status – keeping the future education of our children in mind. Finally, I came with my daughter in 2019 for her to start her education from grade 11 onwards here. That gave me an opportunity to complete my doctorate and now I am a board-certified natural health physician and practicing. My wife was still in India taking care of the clinics there and then COVID happened to force us to move all our practice to online mode. She along with our son joined us in August 2020, and this time it was different as I had been practicing for one year and was familiar with the system.
What is the best thing you like here which is not there in Chandigarh?
Frankly, we are big fans of Chandigarh and there is no place like it. Surrey, BC is quite similar to our home city and that is why we feel like being at home here too.
What is the one thing that you miss here which was there in Chandigarh and is not here?
We miss our family the most and most importantly, our mother. Our acquaintances, patients, fans and followers with a sense of belonging and attachment is something that we miss a lot. We also miss the meetings and gatherings with our friends and fellow medical professionals.
Comments are closed.