Gift of Childhood

At 34 weeks, Ava was born prematurely with a rare congenital heart defect. On her six-month birthday, Ava underwent an 11-hour open heart surgery at the IWK. Your funds work to purchase life-saving equipment like the anesthesia machine used during Ava’s operation.

Your funds work to support the purchase of specialized equipment pieces such as the C-MAC Video Laryngoscope for intubating premature babies and children. The flexibility of the portable laryngoscope is ideal for emergency situations, including high trauma and difficult intubations, giving the gift of a safer hospital stay for kids.

The “Transitioning Rural Adolescents to Adult Care (TRAAC)” program helps adolescents to build their knowledge base and gives them the confidence to manage their health regimen as they move into adulthood. By using Telehealth technology, half of the study participants will receive nurse-led intervention via Telehealth, to better prepare them for navigating the healthcare system in the future. You’ve given Alberta teens the gift of rural community support.

At the Montreal Children’s Hospital (MCH), your funds work to support the procedure room, a dedicated area for procedural sedation, where children like Manny can be treated. Thank you for giving them the gift of the right treatment.

Thanks to you, BC Children’s Hospital has been able to give the gift of equipment designed specifically for the growing bodies of children, including a new fleet of vital signs monitors. Used across all departments, the equipment lets health-care providers monitor a child’s body temperature, pulse, breathing rate and blood pressure to assess the severity of their condition. They’re able to accommodate all patient sizes, from newborns to fully grown teens.

Your funds work to purchase specialized equipment like the Giraffe OmniBed for premature babies. The OmniBed is a fully equipped specialized incubator and monitoring system that is home to more than 700 babies who come to the Children’s Hospital each year. The cost of each bed is $70,000 but they save lives and speed up treatment and recovery times, giving the gift of comfort to save premature babies.

Every kid deserves their childhood—and the chance to return to a healthy, normal life. When the 15-year-old Ben from St. John’s, Newfoundland lost control of his dirt bike he suffered a severe burn on his right leg that went straight to the bone. Your funds work to give the gift of rehabilitation equipment, like the portable treadmill that helped Ben get moving again.

SickKids is exploring how the gift of smartphone technology can help teens and young adults with chronic pain. With a new iCanCope app, kids like Lauryn can play detective and investigate their pain. The mobile app can be used for three painful conditions—chronic pain, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and sickle cell disease—and all three are being tested in pilot studies or large-scale trials thanks to your funds.

Your funds helped to create an entire ECLS program at Alberta Children’s Hospital in 2011. It was a unique achievement for a paediatric hospital without an associated cardiac surgery program. Now, more children throughout the hospital can benefit from the gift of this life-saving technology. In 2018, the ECLS team saved the life of a premature baby born at just 34 weeks—the youngest patient to date. Thanks to continued education and simulation training, ECLS is now offered to kids outside of paediatric intensive care, making it accessible to every child with cardio-respiratory arrest in the hospital.

Oncology experts at McMaster Children’s Hospital treat more than 800 inpatients annually. Olive underwent chemotherapy during the summer followed by a second brain surgery, when surgeons were able to remove the rest of the tumour during the three-hour operation. Your funds work to support the gift of specialized care provided through the hematology/oncology program.

Karina, the music therapist at Children’s Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre, recognizes that music is a natural way for kids and teens to express their emotions, when they’re unable to verbalize their feelings, fears or concerns. Your funds work to support a program that young patients have come to count on. Without your generosity, the music therapy program wouldn’t exist. By lifting the spirits of sick and injured children through music therapy, you give children the gift of joy during a difficult time.

You’re giving children the gift of opportunity…a chance to speak one-on-one about their illness. This provides moments of relief and control in a situation when they feel powerless. Your funds work to support programs like psychological services, which is 100 per cent donor funded, and was created after families identified a need.

At CHU-Sainte Justine in Montreal, your funds work to provide the gift of mobile technology (MRI scanners) for use in the operating suite, where precise surgery is needed for young patients with tumours or epilepsy.