Madhur Dutt spent the last six years working towards becoming a licensed dentist in Canada.
But just months before Dutt would have received her certification, co-workers say she was killed.
“That essentially is what makes this entire thing so tragic,” said Alexander Yeh, a dentist for whom Dutt worked as an assistant at Smiles Dental Group.
“She was on the cusp of becoming a licensed dentist… which was her dream.”
Madhur Dutt appears on the right in this photo. Her co-workers are holding a fundraiser for Dutt’s kids, after she died this summer.
Courtesy: Smiles Dental Group
“She was a dentist back in India, so essentially upon coming to Canada she had to restart,” said Amanda-Lee Peterson, another co-worker.
Co-workers say Dutt worked hard after starting over, working as a dental assistant and raising her two young children while trying to get dental certification in Canada.
Yeh calls Dutt a dedicated worker, who showed compassion towards clients and never let things get her down — even when she was fighting cancer.
“She worked through that. Even while she was on chemotherapy and that was a huge, huge thing,” Yeh said. “It showed a lot of character to do that.”
In honour of that character, Smiles Dental is raising money for Dutt’s two kids.
On Monday, the proceeds from every dental procedure at the company’s Millwoods location will go into a trust for Dutt’s kids.
A GoFundMe has also been set up. Smiles Dental is matching the total contributions.
“She really valued education and we wanted to give her kids an opportunity to still have that as they get older,” Peterson said.