HEROES - Spring 2020

STORIES FROM THE STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

SUMMER 2020

TEAM EFFORT

VIRTUAL VISITS

The Stollery’s Pediatric Surgery Division relies on teamwork and communication to deliver precise care to kids

Bringing peace of mind to families of critically ill newborns, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic

DEFYING

THE ODDS As this year’s Stollery Champion, 11-year-old burn survivor Kaden Howard is proud to share his remarkable journey with others

STOLLERY ACTION FUND Please help our front-line care providers and vulnerable Stollery kids during this COVID-19 crisis.

Your donations will go to the Hospital’s most urgent needs, including specialized equipment, programs, research and training during the coronavirus pandemic.

Please donate today at: stollerykids.com/actionfund 2

HEROES MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

Contents

SUMMER 2020

40

FEATURES 10 A PHOENIX OUT OF THE FIRE

16

DEPARTMENTS 6 FOUNDATIONS

25 TECH FILES

Find out more about four fundraising initiatives that help support Stollery kids.

NICView cameras bring peace of mind to parents and families of critically ill infants in the neonatal intensive care units.

8 PAYING IT FORWARD As one of the Foundation’s volunteer photographers, Christina Sirman-Hundt sees the Stollery Children’s Hospital through a unique lens.

9 EVENTS Mark your calendars for these two upcoming fundraising events.

As the Stollery 2020 Children’s Miracle Network Champion, 11-year-old burn survivor Kaden Howard is eager to share his inspirational Stollery journey with others.

28 SUMMIT FOR STOLLERY How a dedicated team climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.

STORIES FROM THE STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

16 HIGHLY SPECIALIZED

SUMMER 2020

TEAM EFFORT

VIRTUAL VISITS

The Stollery’s Pediatric Surgery Division relies on teamwork and communication to deliver precise care to kids

Bringing peace of mind to families of critically ill newborns, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic

DEFYING

THE ODDS As this year’s Stollery Champion, 11-year-old burn survivor Kaden Howard is proud to share his remarkable journey with others

ON THE COVER Kaden Howard.

37 EXTRA LIFE Lisa Hawthorne is giving back through the power of play.

22 INNOVATOR

38 FROM THE HEART

Dr. Todd Alexander is working to find answers to many of the questions surrounding childhood kidney disease.

Over the years, Brian Austrom has expressed his gratitude to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in a number of inspiring ways.

40 REFLECTIONS Fundraiser Cristina Milite shares her reasons for donating her time and heart to Wheels for Wellness in support of kids’ and community mental health programs.

Led by Dr. Mark Evans, the Pediatric Surgery Division at the Stollery Children’s Hospital rely on teamwork, precision and highly specialized resources to deliver the best possible care to their patients.

30 RESEARCH IN MIND Meet two Foundation-supported researchers — and their teams — who are working with the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute to improve pediatric mental health services in unique ways.

34 WHILE THEY’RE YOUNG The Stollery’s Pediatric Consultation and Liaison Psychiatry team helps to support and assess patients with concurrent physical and mental health needs, allowing for a fuller picture of a patient’s health.

STOLLERYKIDS.COM

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SUMMER 2020 • VOL 8 • NO. 1

STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

It Takes Trust to Transform Children’s Health

EDITOR

Return undeliverable addresses to:

Josie Hammond-Thrasher

Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation 800 College Plaza, 8215-112 St. NW,

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2C8

Courtney Gillis

We’re proud to share with you our accreditation with the Imagine Canada Standards Program Trustmark. This designation shows our commitment to the highest standards of accountability, transparency and governance.

REDPOINT MEDIA & PRESIDENT & CEO

MARKETING SOLUTIONS

Mike House MBA, ICD.D

Editorial Director Jill Foran

Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation

Graphic Designer Rebecca Middlebrook Contributors Elizabeth Chorney-Booth,

BOARD OF TRUSTEES CHAIR

Shannon Cleary, Geoff Geddes, Courtney

Noah Jones, BA, CFP, CLU

Gillis, Robbie Jeffrey, Lisa Kadane,

Vanta Group

Nathan Kunz, Karin Olafson, Cristina Milite, Sheena Riener, Martin Schuldhaus

VICE-CHAIR

170,000 charities and non-profits in Canada

Kelly Blackett, Canadian Western Bank

200+

accredited

27

in Alberta

Published for Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation

PAST-CHAIR

800 College Plaza, 8215-112 St. NW,

Lindsay Dodd, B.Comm., MBA, ICD.D, Doddcor Ltd.

Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2C8 stollerykids.com

Bonnie Andriachuk, LLB, ICD.D, City of Edmonton

5 areas of excellence: Board governance Financial accountability & transparency Fundraising Staff management Volunteer involvement

Todd Bish, Solutions Business Interiors

Published by

Jennifer Bisson, Mountain Integrated Medical Devices

Redpoint Media & Marketing Solutions

Delphine Brooker

100, 1900 11 St. S.E.

Jeff Bryson, The Stollery Charitable Foundation

Calgary, Alberta T2G 3G2

Jonathan Chia, CA, ICD.D, Gratum Consulting

Phone: 403-240-9055

Jacquelyn Colville, CA, CPA, ICD.D, Midnight Sun Financial

Toll free: 1-877-963-9333

Dr. Alf Conradi, MD, FRCPC, Stollery Children’s Hospital

Fax: 403-240-9059

Kevin George, CPA, CA, MPA.cc, MNP LLP

info@redpointmedia.ca

Richard Kirby, LLB, MBA, ICD.D, Midnight Sun Financial Kevin McKee, Pangman Development Corporation

President & CEO Pete Graves

Tara Opyr, CPA, CA, Ernst & Young LLP Aleem Popatia, B.Comm, JD, Ogilvie LLP Ian Reynolds, QC, ICD.D, Bennett Jones LLP

The Standards Program Trustmark is a mark of Imagine Canada used under licence by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Christine Westerlund, Stollery Children’s Hospital

Copyright 2020 by RedPoint Media &

Cory D. Wosnack, Avison Young

Marketing Solutions.

Dr. David Zygun, MD, M.Sc., FRCPC, Alberta Health Services

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the express written

EX OFFICIOS:

consent of the publisher.

Dr. Sarah Forgie, University of Alberta and Stollery Children’s Hospital

Publications Agreement #40012957

Dr. Brenda Hemmelgarn, University of Alberta Dr. Carina Majaesic, University of Alberta and Stollery Children’s Hospital

THIS ISSUE OF HEROES IS SPONSORED BY

Dr. Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, University of Alberta and Stollery Children’s Hospital

About the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation The Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation advances children’s health care right in your own backyard by funding specialized care at the Stollery Children’s Hospital: state-of-the-art equipment and facilities; sub-specialty training; leading-edge research; and specialized pediatric programs that improve family-centred care, child and youth addiction and mental health services, and patient and family outcomes. Together, we can give kids the best chance, anywhere in the world, to live a long and healthy life.

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HEROES MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

All fundraising totals are listed as gross unless otherwise specified.

For information on fundraising targets and expenses, please call the Foundation at 780.433.5437.

welcome from the president & ceo MIKE HOUSE (RIGHT) WITH STOLLERY KID PORTER STANLEY AND HIS PARENTS, CRAIG AND CORINE.

Shifting PRIORITIES WHEN TIMES GET TOUGH, I often look to our Stollery families for inspiration. This is certainly one of those times.

Stollery mom Corine Cunningham once said this about her son Porter being one of only 30 people in the world with a rare condition known as Beare-Stevenson syndrome, “Nobody really knew what to expect.” What Corine and her husband, Craig Stanley, soon realized however is that their “Boy Wonder,” Porter, forced them to parent differently. He inspired them

to love differently. He gave them strength to shift their priorities in order to put his health and his best future first.

That’s what we’ve had to do in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shift our priorities.

We started the Stollery Action Fund (stollerykids.com/actionfund) in response to our donors who are reaching out to us asking how they can help. Thank you for giving at this difficult time.

WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS, TOGETHER. MIKE HOUSE

Your donations are helping families stay connected to their critically ill newborns by funding NICView cameras that are mounted on the bedside of each baby in the Stollery neonatal intensive care units. Especially with current restrictions on hospital visitations, NICView gives families peace of mind by making it possible for them to see their baby at any time of day, from any location.

Your gifts are also going to help care for the ones who care for our kids.

The Stollery Critical Incident Stress Management program is helping front-line caregivers receive vital, peerto-peer mental health support during the pandemic and other crises so they can be by the bedside of every child who needs them.

All of us are more aware than ever of how much we need to care for each other, and how much we need our hospital’s front-line medical teams to care for our families — especially Stollery kids like Sophia who have vulnerable immune systems. Mom Stephanie says, “Our family is in isolation to protect our daughter Sophia as best we can because she is our EVERYTHING.” Thank you for being someone’s everything. We are all in this together and because of that, we will get through this, together. In the meantime, stay safe and have a healthy summer.

MIKE HOUSE, MBA, ICD.D President & CEO, Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation

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Committed TO CARING A closer look at four inspiring fundraisers

BY NATHAN KUNZ

STOLLERY FAMILY DAY CLASSIC TEN TOURNAMENTS, THOUSANDS OF PLAYERS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS RAISED have made the Stollery Family Day Classic a staple in Edmonton youth hockey.

This year’s installation brought 82 Alberta teams from novice through bantam to Edmonton’s Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre for the fast-paced four-on-four tournament.

Held from February 14-17, the 2020 Classic raised more than $324,000 through fundraising, sponsor donations, 50/50 tickets and raffles. This brings the total to $3.2 million since 2011 in support of the best people, programs, equipment and research at the

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HEROES MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

Stollery Children’s Hospital, and local hockey initiatives. For 2020, Stollery funds went to initiatives such as the Hospital’s pediatric oncology program.

Reflecting on the past decade, founder and chairman Steve Serdachny says the tournament’s continued success is largely owed to a core team — among them Tracy Martin, Dan Serdachny, Patrick Dumelie and Chantal Geoffrion — who work hard to provide young players with a chance to give back.

“It’s not a giant organization. It’s just some really passionate people who dedicate their time and energy,” says Serdachny. “[And] it’s really never been about the money raised — it’s about the tens of thousands of kids who have been impacted from playing in this tournament and have become, I think, stronger, better people by thinking of others.”

WHEN MEERA GOLDY DAVE was born on October 26, 2018, she and her family were 300 kilometres away from home.

Prior to Meera’s birth, Madison and Shrenuj Dave were told their daughter would be born with a severe congenital heart defect, requiring an operation that was only performed in Western Canada at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton. The family, who live in Calgary, travelled north ahead of the delivery date.

After Meera’s successful surgery at six days old and a five-week recovery in the Stollery’s pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (PCICU), the Dave family headed home with two things on their minds — celebrating their daughter and giving back to the team that helped her through a turbulent first few weeks.

Through organizing efforts from grandmother Pam, the family celebrated

FAMILY DAY CLASSIC BY JOHN HARDEMAN; WOMEN OF THE WAGONS COURTESY OF CVM PHOTOGRAPHY

MEERA GOLDY DAVE’S BABY SHOWER

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HERYL’S RUN FOR C APLASTIC ANEMIA EACH SEPTEMBER, runners and non-runners alike gather in Edmonton’s scenic river valley to support two great causes: raising funds for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and promoting blood and bone marrow donations for the Canadian Blood Service.

Inspired by Cheryl Lynn Boyle, a pediatric oncology nurse at the Stollery Children’s Hospital who passed away of aplastic anemia in 2017, Cheryl’s Run is a non-competitive race held in Sir Wilfred Laurier Park.

“What we wanted to hold up in Cheryl’s legacy was that we will

the newborn with a fundraiser baby shower on her three-month birthday. The event saw around 60 friends and family members welcome the newest addition to the Dave family, with donations to the Stollery PCICU accepted in the place of gifts. Ultimately, the party raised more than $2,500 for the team who helped Meera Goldy come home healthy.

“It was so heartwarming just to see so many people supporting us,” says Madison Dave. “It was just awesome to see everyone come to celebrate our little girl.”

To learn about hosting a celebrations fundraiser, visit www.stollerykids. com/ways-to-give/ birthdays-weddingsspecial-occasions.aspx.

foundations continue to help people, the same way she helped people in her life,” says Cheryl’s mother-in-law Colette Bachez, who organizes the event along with Cheryl’s aunt, Norma Kennedy.

Consisting of a 10-km run, a 5-km run and walk, and a kids obstacle course race, Cheryl’s Run was launched in 2017 and has raised close to $30,000 for the Stollery since its inception. And earlier this year, the race was awarded 2019 Ambassador of the Year by Canadian Blood Services.

More so than accolades, Kennedy says witnessing her community rally around the causes inspires the team to keep the event coming back each year.

“It’s overwhelming when you see first-hand some of those kids that the

WOMEN OF THE WAGONS

AS CHUCKWAGON SEASON BEGINS in early June, so do the efforts of the Women of the Wagons (WOW).

This collective of wives, sisters, friends and members tied to the Canadian Professional Chuckwagon Association (CPCA) spend the summer travelling the Prairies for races.

Inspired by the communities they visit and the families that become closely knit, WOW gives back through 50/50

Foundation has impacted, and you see the smiles,” says Kennedy. “We’re running and walking for them.”

To register, visit cherylsrun.com.

draws, a pancake breakfast and a golf tournament, along with their signature season’s end event, the Denim and Diamonds Western Charity Gala.

Through their work, WOW has made a sizeable impact off the track.

Since 2015, they have donated $87,000 to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, while making further contributions to the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation, Lloydminster Hospital’s Pediatric Ward, Saskatoon’s Ronald McDonald House and Kinsmen Telemiracle.

While their results speak volumes, Dana Laboucane, who has volunteered with the organization for five years while her husband competes, says everything they do stems from a humble force.

“We just feel like a small group of women that get together to hang out and do something good at the same time,” says Laboucane. “We are so grateful to be involved and to have had such a great response from everyone that we speak to.”

To learn about how you can host your own community fundraiser, please visit stollerykids.com/ways-to-give/community-event.aspx.

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paying it forward CHRISTINA SIRMAN-HUNDT PHOTOGRAPHING THE WHEELS FOR WELLNESS FUNDRAISER IN 2019.

Stollery Volunteers

BY THE NUMBERS 1,261

Number of active Foundation volunteers in 2019

5,660

Hours volunteered to date

2,066

Capturing Moments and Creating Memories Christina Sirman-Hundt has deep connections to the Stollery Children’s Hospital BY KARIN OLAFSON

C

hristina Sirman-Hundt is connected to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in more ways than one. She works as the clinic manager for the Stollery’s Pediatric Centre for Weight and Health, and in November 2016, she experienced the Stollery from a different perspective when her daughter underwent surgery there.

As such, Sirman-Hundt sees the Stollery through a unique lens — and this comes in handy, as she is also a volunteer photographer for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Sirman-Hundt has always loved photography and, in her spare time, has taken several photography

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courses and studied the craft with a professional photographer. So, back in 2018, when she saw the Foundation’s call for volunteer photographers, Sirman-Hundt jumped at the chance to donate her creative skills. The first event she photographed was the 2018 Wheels for Wellness, and since then, she has captured special moments for numerous Foundation events and fundraisers, including the Snowflake Gala, Stollery Spotlight and the Teddy Bear Fun Run. “I love working the Stollery’s events and meeting people. One of my most memorable events has been at The Beach in the Hospital,” recalls SirmanHundt. “In January 2019, there were actors dressed up as Frozen characters

Volunteer opportunities available each year

14

Age of youngest volunteer

968

Volunteers from Edmonton

23%

Percentage of volunteers from outside Edmonton, with the furthest community being Lloydminster

21

Number of years the longestserving volunteer has given back

35

Volunteers since April 2018 who have joined our program and have identified a personal Stollery connection

events

Learn more at stollerykids.com/volunteer.

SAVE the DATE

YOUR HEALTH, SAFETY AND PEACE OF MIND are most important to us. We’re monitoring news about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and working closely with our partners at Alberta Health Services to ensure our decisions have your safety at the forefront.

For up-to-date information on whether the following events are running and what format they’re taking (e.g., in-person vs. virtual event), please visit stollerykids.com/events.

WFW PHOTO BY LANA ZHANG; LEMONADE STAND PHOTO BY MELISSA PENNEY PHOTOGRAPHY

and I took pictures of each of the kids with the characters. I love knowing that when they look at that picture, they will remember that fun night.”

For Sirman-Hundt, volunteering with the Stollery is a meaningful way to connect her work with her artistic passion.

“I support the Stollery 100 per cent, and giving back in this way really puts my [photography] skills to good use,” she says. “Volunteering here is perfect for me because I am passionate about my job in the clinic, and volunteering for the Foundation is an extension of that. I get an up-close view of how the Hospital and the Foundation work together.”

Shelley Borowski, program director of volunteer engagement and the Stollery Women’s Network with the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, says Sirman-Hundt goes above and beyond, simply by sharing her talent to support the Foundation’s work.

“Christina is such a bright light, and her photographs reflect that,” says Borowski. “Her photos are very moving and there’s so much energy to them.”

Borowski adds that all volunteers help boost the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation’s fundraising efforts.

“Our volunteers help us keep the cost of fundraising down, so the money we raise can be used to support the Stollery’s specialized equipment, programs, training and research,” says Borowski.

The Foundation has volunteers from within Edmonton and backyards across Alberta, highlighting the Stollery’s far-reaching impact. Plus, the number of volunteers who have a connection to the Stollery, either professionally or through a family member’s Hospital experience, showcases the community’s appreciation for the world-class care the Stollery provides.

“We are so fortunate to have people who want to share their time and talent,” says Borowski. “And they all do so with care, energy and excitement.”

SEPTEMBER 26, 2020

AUGUST 30, 2020

Wheels for Wellness

Simply Supper Lemonade Stand Day

Buckle up for the 5th Annual Wheels for Wellness car rally in support of child and youth mental health and community wellness. In partnership with the Mental Health Foundation, this fun event features a variety of epic checkpoints that change each year.

Learn more at wheelsforwellness.ca.

Simply Supper Helps and its youngest volunteers will squeeze some love into the community by hosting the 7th Annual Lemonade Stand Day, where kids can help kids by selling lemonade in their own neighbourhoods.

Learn more at simplysupper.ca/ lemonade-stand-day.

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HEROES MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

hero

A PHOENIX

OUT OF THE

Kaden Howard’s journey from fire to ice turned him into a Stollery Champion

BY LISA KADANE

O

n a sunny May day in 2018, Kristi-Lee Bolton was at work in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, when her phone rang.

The woman on the other end explained there had been an accident involving Kristi-Lee’s nine-year-old son.

“Kaden has been burned, but he’s going to live,” the woman said. “You need to come now.”

Around 80 kilometres away, on an acreage near Crimson Lake, Kaden and some of his family members had been refueling his quad when the fuel ignited and engulfed him in flames.

Kristi-Lee jumped in her car and sped west toward Rocky Mountain House

Health Centre, where an ambulance was bringing her son. She didn’t know the extent of Kaden’s burns and was shocked when she arrived at the centre.

“All of his skin from his neck down was bubbling and popping, like nothing I’d ever seen before,” she recalls.

“I started crying and he said, ‘Mom, please don’t cry, you know how much I hate it when you cry.’”

So Kristi-Lee put on a brave face and tried to cheer up her son by telling him that his favourite hockey team, the Vegas Golden Knights, had advanced to the Stanley Cup final.

After he was stabilized for transport, Kaden was airlifted to the Stollery Children’s Hospital. There, he began

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a four-month journey from fire to the ice as he recovered from severe burns covering 87 per cent of his body (70 per cent of which were third degree), was discharged from the Hospital early, and, astonishingly, laced up his skates to play hockey with his team that fall.

BEGINNING TREATMENT When Kristi-Lee first arrived at the Stollery, she met with Kaden’s pediatric burn surgeon, Dr. Peter O. Kwan. He explained the severity of Kaden’s burns — only his face and parts of his back and right leg had been spared. The good news was that Kwan expected Kaden to survive, but the doctor cautioned they wouldn’t know the boy’s prognosis for certain until they saw how he pulled through his first skin grafting surgery.

“The majority of Kaden’s burns were what we call third degree, and due to the extent were life-threatening at the time,” says Kwan.

To treat third degree burns, which don’t heal on their own, surgeons take a thin shaving of healthy skin, called a graft, from the patient to cover the injured area. The graft reattaches to the body over about a week and then toughens up over time. Unfortunately, because so much of his body had been burned, Kaden didn’t have enough healthy tissue to work with (doctors rarely use donor skin from a family member or stranger because the body often rejects it). Instead, they relied on allografts, which are grafts from deceased donors. These provided a temporary hygienic solution to covering up his burns until Kaden’s healthy skin healed enough to provide more grafts.

“We repeat this cycle of skin grafting and donor site healing until all the burns are covered,” says Kwan. “It’s a race against time because the whole time the patient’s body is at a high risk of infection and is breaking down because of the large amount of energy

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needed to survive these injuries.”

During his time at the Stollery, Kaden underwent three major grafting surgeries — to repair his arms, legs and torso — as well as six touch-up grafting surgeries.

Because burn patients are more susceptible to pathogens (their damaged skin can’t keep bacteria out of the body), Kaden spent 52 days straight in an isolation room inside the Stollery’s Hiller Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). And even before that, when Kaden first arrived at the Stollery, he was put into a medicated state similar to a medically-induced coma for 14 days to help him cope with the shock and pain — and because doctors needed him to stay perfectly still while they removed his dead, burned skin

(a procedure called debridement).

It was an emotional roller coaster for Kristi-Lee. “The first thought in my head was to just drop to the ground and throw up.

But I thought, ‘That’s not solving any problems. This will not help Kaden in any way,’” she says.

She kept it together thanks to the support of her parents, who live in Red Deer and were able to visit the Hospital regularly. She also received support from Kaden’s father and his girlfriend, along with family friends, Kaden’s grandparents on his father’s side, his buddies and even his teachers, who came to see him after he was out of isolation.

Kristi-Lee was also buoyed by the knowledge that Kaden was going to

hero LEFT: KADEN, AGE 11, WITH MOM KRISTI-LEE. BELOW: NINE-YEAR-OLD KADEN OUTSIDE THE STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL.

“That day he took five steps. And the next day he took 35 and the day after that it was 75 and then we stopped counting at 300 on day four. He was in so much visible pain but he didn’t care,” recalls Kristi-Lee. With help from a physical therapist, Kaden was walking on a treadmill and climbing up and down stairs within a couple of weeks, albeit slowly.

As for what motivated him, Kaden, now 11, doesn’t hesitate to put a name to it: “Hockey.” As a centre for his team, he couldn’t wait to hit the ice. “If I’m going to play hockey with the team this fall I need to get out of this bed,” he had told his mom.

DEFYING THE ODDS

live. She spent her days in hospital with him, and caught up on sleep at the Ronald McDonald House, which offers housing to families of hospital patients that live outside the Edmonton area.

There, a double room — and a kitchen stocked with healthy meals made by volunteers — greeted her each night.

Four days after his third major skin grafting surgery, Kaden came out of isolation and was moved into a regular PICU room. He woke up the next morning and told his mom he wanted to walk.

His determination paid off — Kaden was discharged from the Stollery two months earlier than doctors had predicted, and he went back to school four days after leaving the Hospital. He started playing hockey a month later and only missed one practice that year.

Kaden has adjusted incredibly well to his “new normal,” and for the most part his classmates have been empathetic about the accident. Before he returned, his school held an assembly to talk about what had happened to Kaden. To further their understanding, Dr. Kwan and his team came to the school to explain the “whys”: why Kaden looks, moves and reacts

differently because of his burn injuries.

Still, the road back to regular hasn’t been without bumps — Kristi-Lee received a call from the school recently to let her know a teacher had overheard some kids telling others to stay away from Kaden. When she asked Kaden about it, he admitted some of the kids were mean about his scars.

He shrugged it off. “Mom, they don’t matter,” he said.

Kristi-Lee credits the Stollery for helping boost Kaden’s self-confidence while he was still in hospital. During his recovery, staff talked to him about body image and what life would be like when he left. They told him not to be embarrassed or afraid to answer questions because that would be a waste of an emotion on something he has no control over.

“He took that advice and he completely went with it,” she says.

“If [people] ask questions, I just answer the questions,” Kaden says matter-of-factly.

Kwan says that with the support of family, friends and community, pediatric burn patients can do very well emotionally. He believes Kaden’s mental fortitude helped him with his physical recovery, and that it will continue to serve him well as he faces social hurdles on the cusp of teenage-hood.

“He has integrated his burn without letting it define him as a person. He is

[KADEN] HAS INTEGRATED HIS BURN WITHOUT LETTING IT DEFINE HIM AS A PERSON. HE IS ALWAYS VERY POSITIVE AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT THING. IN MANY WAYS IT IS MY PRIVILEGE TO SUPPORT HIM ON HIS JOURNEY. DR. PETER O. KWAN

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hero

IT’S AWESOME BEING A STOLLERY CHAMPION. KADEN

always very positive and looking forward to the next thing,” says Kwan. “In many ways it is my privilege to support him on his journey.”

BECOMING A CHAMPION Kaden’s remarkable story hasn’t gone unnoticed. The Stollery Children’s Hospital is part of the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN), an organization that raises awareness about, and funds for, children’s hospitals across North America, in partnership with companies such as Walmart, The Brick and Air Canada Foundation. Every hospital and its foundation that are part of CMN picks a child Champion to be its ambassador for a year, and Kaden was chosen to represent the Stollery for 2020.

In his Stollery Champion role, Kaden will attend fundraising meetings and events to tell his story and raise awareness about the importance of the Hospital to families like his. In fact, another reason he was chosen is because he’s from Sylvan Lake — he’s a powerful reminder that the Stollery helps kids from backyards across northern Alberta and beyond.

“It’s awesome being a Stollery Champion,” says Kaden.

Kristi-Lee, too, is thrilled and honoured by Kaden’s role, happy they can help give back to the Hospital that saved Kaden’s life.

“There aren’t even words to describe how grateful we are to be able to do

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this,” says Kristi-Lee. “I’m also hoping this will put a positive spin on this portion of his life so when he looks back, the painful part, the awful part, is kind of hazy and this part is really clear and bright.”

Though the family is through the hardest bits, their journey with the Stollery isn’t over yet. Kaden requires follow-up care that includes laser surgery treatments that diminish the itching caused by nerve regeneration after skin grafting. He will also require regular tune-up surgeries where Dr. Kwan will release Kaden’s scar band, inserting new grafts and healthy tissue so that Kaden’s skin can stretch and grow with him.

Kristi-Lee worries about Kaden’s mental health as he nears puberty and the associated tribulations of being a teenager. He still won’t open up and talk about the incident that landed him in hospital (though he has been back on a quad since the accident, an experience he describes as “intense”), and his mom wonders about the long-term impact of bottling up the trauma and pain he has endured. She can’t force the issue though, so she chooses instead to praise his accomplishments.

“I tell him almost daily how amazing I think he is, and the positive role that he’s taken,” says Kristi-Lee. “And how proud I am of him for seriously being the phoenix out of the fire.”

BY THE NUMBERS

In May 2019, the Stollery opened its expanded and renovated Hiller PICU, thanks in large part to Foundation donors.

$1.2M

From donations to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation

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Single-patient rooms equipped to treat the most critically ill kids and youth, including burn, respiratory, transplant, trauma and post-operative patients

725

Hiller PICU visits made last year

37.5%

PICU patients from outside Edmonton

353

PICU transports in 2018, from backyards across Alberta, the Northwest Territories and beyond to the Stollery

THANK YOU!

When you support our Children's Miracle Network partners, you support Stollery kids.

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HEROES MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2020

THIS PAGE PHOTO BY RIYAZ SHARAN. FACING PAGE PHOTOS

BY SUZANNA SAGMEISTER, COOPER & O’HARA, ROB HISLOP

teamwork

Highly SPECIALIZED Dr. Mark Evans and the rest of the Pediatric Surgery Division at the Stollery rely on collaboration, communication, and a great deal of precision to deliver the best possible care to their patients.

BY SHANNON CLEARY

DR. MARK EVANS (LEFT) AND JUST SOME OF THE STOLLERY KIDS HE AND THE REST OF THE PEDIATRIC SURGERY DIVISION HAVE HELPED OVER THE YEARS. TOP ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): CAMERON, BOSTON, AVA, CHARLOTTE, HUDSON, REESE, RYLIE. BOTTOM ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT): ADELAIDE, RYLAND, AVERY, JACK & LILY, MASON, PORTER AND KAIA.

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S

urgery is often compared to a well-choreographed dance.

Each movement has a purpose, and each partner has a shared understanding of the performance.

That’s how Dr. Mark Evans sees his team. Evans is the chief of surgery at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. He leads a group of around 25 pediatric surgeons, whose subspecialties include general surgery, orthopedics, otolaryngology, plastic surgery, urology and neurosurgery and cardiac surgery.

Pediatric Surgery’s expansive care team also includes nursing, anesthetics, ambulatory care, inpatient care and any other specialists who become part of the patient’s pre-operative, intraoperative and postoperative journey.

“None of the surgical disciplines

function in isolation,” says Evans. “All of these people are intimately involved on any given day in any given number of cases that we do.”

Pediatric Surgery is unique in that the cases covered are categorized by age rather than specific conditions.

In other words, all surgical patients under the age of 18 are referred to the division, regardless of their condition.

Like all pediatric surgeons, Evans’ team of surgeons at the Stollery have received the necessary training within their subspecialties (such as general surgery or neurosurgery), as well as additional training to meet the specific needs of pediatric patients and their families.

On a day-to-day basis, operating room activities may vary from a highly specialized procedure for a unique congenital disorder to the management of trauma, tumors, dentistry or common ailments. Even though surgery is safer than it has ever been, potential blood loss, heat loss and other complications pose a higher risk for children when compared to adults.

When you factor in patients with more

than one condition, says Evans, even the most commonplace surgeries require a large team of care.

“Because of [the Stollery’s] cardiac program, we see a lot of kids who have underlying congenital heart disease,” he says. “But these kids can still have common problems like hernias requiring repairs.”

In this case, co-ordinating the hernia repair surgery requires a significant amount of scheduling, preparation, and communication between pediatric divisions. During the surgery itself, the instrumentation, situational awareness, communication and even the physical maneuvering around the patient can have a direct impact on patient safety.

“That will often involve the pediatrician who looked after the patient, pre-operative investigations with a pediatric cardiologist, and an assessment by the anesthetist because the patient may have specific high-risk factors,” says Evans. “You might have multiple disciplines involved in something as simple as a hernia repair, even though the actual operation is one of the most common things we do.”

SURGICAL SPOTLIGHT

Room to Operate DR. PETER O. KWAN is a pediatric burn surgeon in the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Stollery Children’s Hospital.

He is part of a broad team of care providers who support pediatric burn patients from their initial trauma and treatment to their reintegration into daily life.

“We literally follow these kids for their entire lifetime,” says Kwan.

Pediatric burn patients

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are a particularly high-risk population, especially while in the operating room, where there is an elevated chance of blood loss, hypothermia and infection, as well as a large amount of space required for the equipment, instruments and surgical staff.

In the last few years, the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation has contributed $2.5 million toward a $36.2

million capital project to expand the division’s pediatric surgical suites. Before the expansion and upgrades, Kwan and his surgical team worked in a smaller operating room with just one outlet designed for special equipment. This caused measurable delays during surgery. For example, during reconstruction surgery on pediatric burn patients, two different lasers are used to improve and remodel scars.

“Before, to switch between

lasers, we would have to shut one down, unplug it, plug the other one in, and have it boot up again. That could take 10 or 15 minutes,” says Kwan.

“Now we can have both lasers plugged in simultaneously.”

Kwan says being able to operate quickly and efficiently improves patient outcomes: “The investments from the Foundation allow us to provide better, smoother care for our patients, and that allows them to get back to their families sooner.”

teamwork IT’S FAIR TO SAY THERE’S ALMOST NOTHING THAT WE DO THAT HASN’T BEEN IMPACTED BY SOME ASPECT OF WHAT THE FOUNDATION IS DOING. IT TOUCHES ALMOST EVERY FACET OF THE PATIENT’S JOURNEY, FROM ARRIVAL TO DISCHARGE.

PHOTO BY NICKI WOHLAND

DR. MARK EVANS

One of the hallmarks of the care delivered by the Stollery Children’s Hospital is “Patient & Family Centred Care,” which values the patient and family as an important part of the care team and involves them in the process of initial investigations, referrals, surgery and follow-up.

“Everything we do is an attempt to accommodate the needs of the family as well,” says Evans, noting that parents and siblings can be instrumental members of the team in preparing a child for surgery, both physically and mentally.

“There’s ample evidence that the

smoothness of which that whole journey occurs can be very much influenced by the support the child gets from their immediate family,” he says.

Because of its pediatric patient population, the Stollery Children’s Hospital has a much larger geographic range than an adult hospital, serving patients in Alberta and backyards across surrounding provinces and territories. It also manages a concentration of rare disorder and specialist care. As a result, the demand for specialized resources is immense.

Evans says that, while the financial

BY THE NUMBERS

In 2016 the expanded Pediatric Surgery OR opened, featuring:

5

New OR theatres with specialized equipment

9

Bays in the pre-admission care unit

2

New procedure rooms AN EXPANDED PEDIATRIC SURGICAL SUITE.

16

Beds in the day ward

$7.8M

Funds from donors for completed and future OR redevelopment

12,175

Surgeries in 2019

39%

Inpatients from outside Edmonton

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SURGICAL SPOTLIGHT

commitment by the government to provide health care is significant, there are certain aspects of Stollery care that rely on donor support.

“That’s where the Foundation steps in,” he says. “It provides help for capital projects and operative instrumentation, and then all the intangibles like food for families in the Hospital, support for the Child Life Program [which helps minimize the stress of hospitalization for pediatric patients] and a whole bunch of initiatives that improve the experience for the families.”

In 2016, the first phase of the redevelopment of the Stollery’s pediatric operating suites was completed. The project, which received $33.7 million from the government and $2.5 million from the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, created larger operating and procedure rooms, new mobile equipment, more efficient use of space, and a friendly, inviting reception area for patients. Foundation donors have committed an additional $5.3 million for future redevelopment at the Stollery.

“It’s fair to say there’s almost nothing that we do that hasn’t been impacted by some aspect of what the Foundation is doing,” says Evans. “It touches almost every facet of the patient’s journey, from arrival to discharge.”

Thanks to donors, Foundation investments in innovative design, technologies, training and research help the Stollery Children’s Hospital provide world-class care. For Evans, these investments create a better work environment, open up avenues for new surgical techniques and, ultimately, result in better outcomes for patients.

“By providing the opportunities to maintain our surgical services at the cutting edge, we can provide the best care possible for patients,” he says.

“The Foundation has been fundamental in helping our team reach those high standards.”

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Under the Microscope IT DOESN’T TAKE A BRAIN SURGEON to know that pediatric neurosurgery requires a high level of precision. In addition to the size difference between a young child’s brain and that of a fully formed adult, a child’s brain changes greatly in early years.

Typically, neurosurgeons like Dr. Vivek Mehta at the Stollery Children’s Hospital use an operating microscope to magnify and illuminate the small tissue structures of their surgical site during intricate procedures.

Operating microscopes are specifically designed for a surgical setting, and look exactly how you might imagine: a mounted stand, a rotating arm, and eyepieces through which the surgeons look. According to Mehta, surgeons are “coupled” to the whole infrastructure of the microscope during surgery, manually rotating the microscope, and themselves,

to access a field of vision roughly the size of a ballpoint pen tip.

In 2019, the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation invested $2.4 million in the Synaptive Medical Modus V, one of the most powerful surgical visualization devices available and the first of its kind in a pediatric hospital in Canada. The Modus V is both a high-resolution microscope and a high-definition exoscope, or video telescope, which projects a high-definition image of the surgical site on a screen.

“You’re not just focused on the tip of a ballpoint pen,” explains Mehta. “You get to see the whole pen in focus.”

Mehta says this new technology has several advantages for the Stollery’s pediatric surgeons and their patients. Improved lighting and magnification can minimize the invasiveness and increase accuracy in the tricky corners of the brain, and because surgeons are not limited to what they see through the eyepiece — in fact, everyone in the surgical suite can see what the surgeon sees — this improves maneuverability, efficiency and teamwork within the operating room. Innovations like the Modus V advance the care that pediatric surgeons are able to provide and are made possible through the generous support of Foundation donors.

“If you want to be on the leading edge, you can’t do it without the Foundation supporting you,” Mehta says.

teamwork Immersive, unobstructed views

Synaptive Medical Modus V A CLOSER LOOK

12.5 X optical zoom

Robotic positioning to eliminate the need for manual adjustments

$2.4M

PHOTOS © 2020 SYNAPTIVE MEDICAL INC.

Digital monitor to alleviate uncomfortable viewing

FROM DONORS

Voiceactivated control

3-D visualization for natural depth perception

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Distinguished Researcher Dr. Todd Alexander has been granted $750,000 over five years from the Foundation, through the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute, to take his research to the next level.

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innovator

UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSE Dr. Todd Alexander is finding answers to many of the questions surrounding childhood kidney disease BY ELIZABETH CHORNEY-BOOTH

PHOTO COURTESY THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

O

ur kidneys are vital and complicated organs, but few of us give them a lot of thought unless they start to pose a problem. While it’s not as widespread as some other pediatric medical issues, childhood kidney disease can be devastating to patients and their families, causing growth delays, bleeding abnormalities and, all too often, premature death. Treatment for childhood kidney disease commonly involves a fairly intense drug and dietary regimen that can greatly affect a child’s quality of life.

Dr. Todd Alexander wants to improve the outcomes and decrease the burden of treatment for families affected by childhood kidney disease.

In Alexander’s opinion, the best way to do that is to better understand what causes the disease in the first place. In comparison to diseases like cancer or

heart disease, relatively little research has been done with kidney disease, leaving a lot of questions unanswered.

Since many of the symptoms of kidney disease, such as proteins in the urine or increased blood pressure, often go unnoticed, researchers have trouble studying patients who are in the early stages of kidney disease in particular.

As part of the University of Alberta’s Women and Children’s Health Research Institute’s Distinguished Researchers program within the Stollery Science Lab, Alexander is examining kidney disease at a molecular level to figure out why a child’s kidneys may become diseased and even fail at such an early age. Thanks to funding from the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation’s donors, Alexander and his team have been granted $750,000 over five years to follow this line of research. “[Essentially], we want to be able to give families an explanation as to why

DID YOU KNOW? Halting the progression of childhood kidney

disease is important — Dr. Alexander has already published data that shows that a third of children diagnosed with kidney failure before the age of two do not survive long enough to receive a kidney transplant. The survival rates are better for older children, but preventing the progression of their disease early on can reduce the need for dialysis or transplants.

their child is sick,” Alexander says.

A big part of Alexander’s research focuses on the way phosphates are absorbed (or, in the case of many patients, not properly excreted) by the body. Patients that have an abnormally high level of phosphates in their blood can experience renal failure and heart disease if they don’t take heavy doses of pills every day. While researchers have known about a link between phosphates and diseased kidneys for some time, Alexander is working to better understand what make phosphate levels worse in patients with kidney disease and how he can more effectively lower those levels to prevent the progression of that kidney disease or other ailments like the weakening of bones or cardiovascular disease.

“At the simplest level, I’m looking at ways to manipulate phosphates to prevent the progression of kidney disease,” Alexander says. “I want to make patients’ lives better so that instead of taking 12 tablets a day they can take two.

The goal would be to give them medicine to prevent phosphates being absorbed into the blood from the intestine and to specifically block the pathway by which phosphates are absorbed.”

Regulating those phosphate levels is just one element of Alexander’s research. As he explains it, kids with kidney disease are not able to pee out

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innovator the phosphates because their kidneys are sick, so he is trying to get to the root cause of this and determine how to manipulate absorption from the intestine.

Other parts of Alexander’s research involve looking at DNA sequences to determine how abnormal genes may play a part in kidney disease and other related disorders — he has found that the majority of pediatric kidney disease can be attributed to genetics.

Naturally, Alexander is not working alone: he has nine people in his lab in Edmonton and is also collaborating with academics in the United States and Europe, as well as American and French drug companies. Albertans are

incredibly fortunate to have such an innovative expert doing research and treating kids right here in the province.

Like the work of other Distinguished Researcher grant recipients, Alexander’s efforts are providing inspiration and hope to both fellow researchers and local patients.

“We’re really lucky to have some of the best researchers for pediatric care anywhere right here in Edmonton, including Dr. Alexander, who is elevating care right in our own backyard and across the globe,” says Mike House, president and CEO of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. “What excites us is the knowledge that we can

Beyond Kidney Disease WHEN DELORES CRANDALL’S now 14-year-old daughter Cadence was nine, Crandall took her to the doctor for what she thought was an injury sustained during a softball game. Crandall, who lives

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with her family on a farm near Wetaskiwin, was shocked to learn that Cadence had developed a case of genetic rickets, a disease that softens and weakens the bones. Given that rickets usually affects

transform children’s health together.”

Alexander’s hope is that his research will lead to therapies not only for the children in Alberta who need transplants and dialysis each year, but that he’ll also be able to help kids with less severe kidney disease as well as other disorders that are not obviously related to the kidneys but can be linked with excessive phosphate in the blood. “[Further research] and understanding brings a hope,” he says, “because when we know what’s happening we can make more intelligent treatment decisions that will prevent progression and kidney failure.”

much younger children and Cadence didn’t present any of the risk factors usually associated with the disease, doctors couldn’t figure out why she had become so ill. Her growth ground to a halt, she had to give up many of the sports and activities she loved, and she required a wheelchair if her parents took her on a trip to the mall.

Even though rickets isn’t generally related to kidney disease, a high level of phosphates in her system led Cadence to Dr. Alexander’s office. The family had also sought the opinions of doctors in Ontario and at the Mayo Clinic in the United States, but it was Alexander who did the genetic research. As he puts it, he and the other doctors “worked together to be convinced [Cadence’s condition]

was genetic, and we identified a presumed cause for her disease.”

Cadence was put on a new drug therapy last summer — after a team of doctors including Alexander appealed to the drug manufacturer to supply the drug on a compassionate-use basis — and has seen a drastic improvement.

She’s grown substantially and is even horseback riding again, restoring the sense of independence and freedom that her illness took away.

Crandall credits Alexander’s perseverance for changing her daughter’s life.

“Dr. Alexander and his team have given her back her life,” Crandall says. “Even though her kidneys weren’t the issue, he continued to see us and continued to be her champion.

He just cared for us.”

tech files

PHOTO BY ED KAISER/EDMONTON JOURNAL

Virtual

VISITS

NICView cameras bring a sense of comfort and relief to parents and family members

BY KARIN OLAFSON

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NICView displays for the authorized viewers. The Stollery’s cameras display 20 messages and include notes like “I’m eating well,” and “I love you.”

The Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation raised $245,000 for the 72 NICView cameras in the Stollery NICU at the Royal Alexandra Hospital site. This is the largest installation of NICView cameras in North America.

The Foundation has also funded NICView cameras in the new, sixbed Stollery NICU at the Sturgeon Community Hospital site, and there are also hopes to install the cameras in the Stollery’s David Schiff NICU at the university site in 2021 after its redevelopments are complete.

Courtney Gillis, communications advisor with the Stollery Children’s

THIS EQUIPMENT MAKES IT SO THAT FAMILIES CAN HAVE SOME PEACE OF MIND DURING DIFFICULT TIMES. COURTNEY GILLIS

NICU AND NICVIEW BY THE NUMBERS

834

39%

72

$245,000

15,000

NICU transports from hospitals across Alberta and as far away as the Northwest Territories in 2018

NICU inpatients in 2019 who came from outside the Edmonton zone

NICView cameras at the Stollery NICU at the Royal Alexandra Hospital site

Foundation funds raised for the cameras

Approximate number of camera log-ins each month so far in 2020

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PHOTO BY ED KAISER/EDMONTON JOURNAL

WHEN A NEWBORN BABY is critically ill and has to be admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the stress of the situation can be overwhelming for the newborn’s parents. Suddenly, instead of bringing the newest family member home, parents are preparing for a very different kind of parent/child routine.

Often, it’s one that involves spending hours in the NICU, worrying about the baby’s health and feeling reluctant to leave the child’s side, even to get a few hours of sleep.

Having a baby in the NICU means parents are confronted with a lot of unknowns, and with that comes a lot of anxieties. But the introduction of

NICView in the Stollery’s NICU at the Royal Alexandra Hospital site in June 2019 is helping relieve some of the anxieties these parents feel.

NICView is a camera system connected to the Internet, where each NICU incubator has its own camera.

Families can access the livestream video of their newborn from their smartphone, tablet or computer using a private username and password. This means that even when family members can’t be right next to their baby, the livestream video offers them the relief of seeing their newborn as they receive care from Stollery staff.

While the video itself is reassuring for parents who can’t be at their baby’s bedside, additional comfort comes from the written messages and care updates

tech files Hospital Foundation, says that the Foundation funded this technology to further support families with kids receiving care in a Stollery NICU. “This equipment makes it so that families can have more peace of mind during difficult times,” says Gillis.

“Thanks to our donors, our investment in NICView means that families from backyards across northern Alberta and beyond can stay connected to their newborn in critical care, even when they’re not physically with them.”

Gillis says this is especially true for parents who have to travel so their babies can receive world-class care at a Stollery NICU. Barbara Henderson, a clinical nurse educator at the Stollery NICU’s Royal Alexandra Hospital site, gets to see, every day, how this new NICView technology is providing comfort to parents with critically ill babies.

“Parents can log-in to NICView whenever they like and just watch their baby for a while,” says Henderson.

“We’ve seen how it’s a chance [for parents] to rest their mind, knowing that their baby is doing well.”

Henderson adds that she’s seen NICView bring distant family members or loved ones closer together, as anyone with the secure log-in information can access the livestream video. Family members and friends have logged in from cities across Canada, as well as from countries around the world, to see how the Stollery babies are doing.

And it’s an increasingly popular way to stay connected. Last fall, the cameras were getting about 9,000 log-ins each month; as of January 2020, the cameras were getting more than 15,000 log-ins each month. And, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, NICView has been instrumental, as families have been limited to just one NICU visitor.

“When your family is happy, you are happy,” says Henderson. “And if you can make them feel good, then it makes your job even more satisfying.”

Tom Clapperton and Rommel Moseley’s Story

IN THE SUMMER OF 2019, first-time parents Tom Clapperton and Rommel Moseley were eagerly anticipating the birth of their twin boys, who were due to arrive that fall.

But that August, the babies — Joshua and Ethan — surprised their parents by arriving two months early. And because they were premature, both boys spent some time in the Stollery NICU at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Suddenly, those feelings of excited anticipation that Clapperton and Moseley had been enjoying in the lead up to their sons’ arrival shifted drastically. Now, with the boys in hospital, the new parents felt worried and nervous.

“No one expects to find themselves in the NICU, or hopes to be there,” says Clapperton, explaining the stress both he and Moseley experienced.

On the very same day the boys were born, the NICU staff told Clapperton and Moseley about the NICView cameras.

After learning how NICView would allow them to see their boys whenever they wanted, their anxieties were soothed.

The parents logged in from their smart phones often, checking the livestream to admire the newborns whenever they couldn’t be at their bedside.

“In these situations, it’s really easy to assume the worst. If you don’t know what’s happening, you just assume that something bad is happening. But being able to check in throughout the day and give yourself little moments of reassurance helps a lot,” says Clapperton. “Whenever we got a little nervous or just wanted to do a quick check, we could turn to our phones and, within a few seconds, get a live image of how [they were] doing.”

As well as relieving their worries, NICView was a chance for Clapperton and Moseley’s families to meet the boys. Clapperton’s mom logged in from her home in the UK, while Moseley’s family checked in on the babies from Barbados and Miami.

“Family that can’t physically be there can watch them grow and watch them thrive,” says Clapperton. “NICView [was as] great for our extended family as it [was] for us.”

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Going To New Heights For The Hospital The Summit for Stollery took a team of 12 to Mount Kilimanjaro and raised $1 million in the process

BY LISA KADANE

W

hen Richard Kirby summited Mount Kilimanjaro in 2007, it didn’t occur to the Edmonton entrepreneur that he’d ever want to attempt climbing to the top of Africa’s highest mountain a second time. But 12 years later, once the mental and physical toll of ascending to 5,895 metres elevation had become a distant memory, Kirby got it in his head to climb Kili again — this time to raise money for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.

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“I wanted to do something to help raise some money, and also go on an experience with a group of people who were passionate about the cause,” says Kirby, who is past-chair of the Foundation’s volunteer board of trustees.

Over six weeks, he cajoled friends and acquaintances until he’d assembled a team of 12 that included Foundation president & CEO Mike House, five board members and others who were passionate about the Hospital and had Mount Kilimanjaro on their bucket list. Kirby then approached the

Foundation’s community initiatives program for project approval and to get support that included an online fundraising page that each team member could personalize.

And just like that, the Summit for Stollery was born, with a goal of raising $1 million for the Hospital through donations.

The dedicated fundraisers met every Sunday for training hikes in the Edmonton river valley, and team members would sometimes get together ad-hoc to walk or climb stairs. Over the

summit for stollery

I WANTED TO DO SOMETHING TO HELP RAISE SOME MONEY, AND ALSO GO ON AN EXPERIENCE WITH A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO WERE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE CAUSE. RICHARD KIRBY

course of three-and-a-half months they not only got fit for the expedition, they met their fundraising goal by soliciting friends, family and local companies.

Synergy Projects, which is owned by Dennis Mozak, contributed $150,000, and a couple of individual donors gave $50,000 and $40,000, respectively.

“It all added up,” says Kirby. “We had everything from $10 donations to $150,000.”

The story was also picked up by local media, furthering the campaign’s reach and success as the community rallied behind Summit for Stollery.

Another reason the fundraiser was so successful is because climbing one of the world’s “seven summits”— the highest mountains on each of the seven continents — is a daunting prospect.

“It was something very challenging, to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, so I think people really got behind that and supported them,” says Joanna Begg Pattison, senior manager of community initiatives for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Kirby and the team travelled to Tanzania in October 2019 and joined up with Tusker Trail, the outfitter that guided them up the mountain’s scenic Lemosho route over eight days.

They hiked through lush rainforest, across barren tundra, and scaled the Barranco Wall, an imposing

257-metre-high rock face that made for a challenging scramble. The whole time they trekked at a steady pace, what the locals call “pole, pole,” which translates from Swahili as “slowly, slowly.” It’s one method that helps with acclimatization.

The group was certainly motivated to ascend to Kili’s summit by a dose of personal conviction, but the biggest shot of encouragement came from the donors supporting their cause, and the children who would benefit from the money.

“Around camp the conversations often turned to the donors and the kids that we were doing it for. It is more motivating than just a personal achievement. You’ve got people that believe in you and have given money,” says Kirby. “And we said it I don’t know how many times — as hard as the climb is, it is nowhere near as hard as what the kids in the Hospital are going through.”

Despite chilly, windy weather on summit day, the group bundled up in their gear — much of it subsidized by Edmonton-based Skier’s Sportshop and Campers Village — and began the long trek to the top. Already

well-accustomed to cold temperatures back home in Edmonton, the team embraced the less-than-optimal conditions and agreed that getting to the summit was a trip highlight.

The Summit for the Stollery initiative was such a success that the playroom in the pediatric surgery unit will soon be named in its honour.

In addition, the $1 million the group raised will make a life-changing difference when it comes to advancing specialized physical and mental health care for Stollery kids, whether that means ensuring subspecialty training for staff, purchasing specialized tools, or funding leading-edge research.

Kirby, meanwhile, is confident the money will be spent well and wisely.

“My time on the board let me see first-hand how strong governance stewarded by talented volunteers and an exceptional management team will ensure that funds will be spent where they’re needed most,” says Kirby. “I feel so privileged to have been able to share an extraordinary adventure with amazing people committed to giving kids the best chance to live long and healthy lives.”

The team summited Mt. Kilimanjaro on Oct. 13, 2019.

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Research in Mind Meet two innovators making a difference in mental health care

BY ELIZABETH CHORNEY-BOOTH

Giving kids in backyards across Alberta the highest quality of evidence-based care calls for constant innovation. Since 2007, the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation has invested more than $6 million in 99 pediatric mental health research projects through the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI) at the University of Alberta. Here are stories about two Foundation-funded researchers who are breaking new ground in their approaches to providing the best possible mental health support for children and youth.

Dr. Bukola Salami Many of us look at the prospect of relocating from one country to another as a potentially stressful experience.

But can the act of immigrating and living in a new culture affect the mental health of a child? That’s the question that Dr. Bukola Salami, an associate professor in the faculty of nursing at the University of Alberta, has set out to answer — with the help of some funding from the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation in the form of two different grants.

The first of Salami’s two Foundation-funded projects through WCHRI, for which she received $40,000, was a pilot run of a “conversation café” initiative, in which parents who have immigrated to Canada from Africa engaged with each other to discuss their children’s transitions and any struggles they may face in parenting in a new cultural environment. Running

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in late 2018 and early 2019, the pilot project consisted of nine sessions, held at the Edmonton Intercultural Centre and the Edmonton Immigrant Services Association. The series of cafés was co-facilitated by African immigrants, health-care professionals and pediatric residents from the University of Alberta so that participants would get a balance of medical advice and cultural understanding. Salami’s hope is that, through these events, parents received a foundation that could help them to navigate the cultural differences between their old and new home countries and, by extension, provide the best-possible support to their children as they struggle with the typical stresses that come with childhood and adolescence, without creating any stigma.

“We decided to look at well-being in general rather than using the words ‘mental health’,” Salami says. “We talked about nutrition, we talked about sleep, we talked about managing behaviours — things that are symptomatic of mental health issues or are factors that would affect a child’s mental health.”

The second project, which received $50,000 from the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation through WCHRI, is a research study in which Salami and her team delved into data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey conducted by Statistics Canada. Salami found that when kids are on an even playing field, immigrant children experience equal or even better mental health than non-immigrant children.

“We also did interviews of immigrant parents to identify the factors they think contribute to the mental well-being of their children,” Salami says. “Some of the barriers they mentioned were limited access to physical activity programs, lack of information about the Canadian health-care system, and being unable to navigate the system and understanding how the system works. For some there was racism and discrimination and they factored that into mental health, as well as language barriers and not feeling listened to by health service providers.”

Despite the findings that suggest immigration itself isn’t a detriment, immigrant children often do face different circumstances than

PHOTO BY COOPER & O’HARA

innovators

non-immigrant kids and need some extra support. While immigrant children whose families are coming to Canada by choice are from relatively stable backgrounds by default (otherwise they would not be accepted by Canada’s immigration program), African immigrants are more likely than many other immigrant groups to be refugees or to have family members who have been involved in gun violence, both of which can cause significant mental trauma.

Salami’s research will continue to look at ways that sub-groups of immigrant youth experience mental health issues and how the Canadian system can properly support them.

All of what Salami is studying falls into the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation’s mandate of helping to

WE TALKED ABOUT NUTRITION, WE TALKED ABOUT SLEEP, WE TALKED ABOUT MANAGING BEHAVIOURS — THINGS THAT ARE SYMPTOMATIC OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES OR ARE FACTORS THAT WOULD AFFECT A CHILD’S MENTAL HEALTH.

ensure that all kids, regardless of their background, are properly supported by the mental health care system.

“New research initiatives like this are incredible in terms of advancing how we understand the needs and care for children and youth,” says Katherine

Captain, the Foundation’s director of development & mental health campaign. “Supporting Dr. Salami’s research in this area is part of our greater long-term, ongoing commitment to child and youth mental health care in Alberta.”

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Supporting Mental Health Initiatives

THE IDEA IS TO BRING TOGETHER ALL THE BEST AVAILABLE EVIDENCE THAT WE KNOW HAS BEEN SHOWN TO LEAD TO IMPROVEMENTS IN MENTAL HEALTH CARE.

Since 2007, the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation has provided over $6M for 99 pediatric mental health projects, including:

Developing a clinical care model to help children and families deal with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder symptoms Assessing the attention control and emotional regulation capacities of children with autism spectrum disorder in hopes of developing earlier methods for diagnosis Developing an app to help adolescents manage anxiety Studying how children’s social and emotional behaviors change during preschool and kindergarten Mindfulness-based stress reduction for youth with mental health concerns

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Dr. Amanda Newton For many families, the pediatric emergency department at either the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton or the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary is often the first point of contact for mental health care. Too frequently, families just don’t know where else to go or find themselves in such a state of crisis, making a trip to the emergency their only option.

Recognizing that emergency departments can be frightening and uncomfortable, especially to a young person in a state of extreme mental distress, researchers funded in part by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation are bringing together more than 50 health-care managers, health-care providers and parents from around the province to improve the standards of care for pediatric patients who find themselves accessing mental health or addiction care in an emergency setting.

The team is co-led by Dr. Amanda Newton, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta and member of WCHRI. Newton works closely with the emergency departments in both Calgary and Edmonton, as well as clinic staff, program managers, and parents in both cities.

“The idea [with this team] is to bring together all the best available evidence that we know has been shown to lead to improvements in mental health care,” Newton says. “We want to [unite] some of the efforts that all these other people have been leading so that we can be a synergistic force in moving forward.”

The team has been meeting for over two years to come up with a “bundle” of tools and recommendations. Two important aspects of the bundle for emergency department care are evidence-based assessment tools to identify the main concerns for families in the emergency department and improved communication during the visit. A key aspect of the bundle for post-emergency department care, meanwhile, is ensuring families are active participants in identifying preferences for subsequent outpatient care. This approach to shared decision-making is generally known as the Choice and Partnership Approach (CAPA). The bundle also includes protocols to streamline care so that patients aren’t forced to repeatedly tell their stories to multiple care providers.

COURTESY ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES

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Team participant Christine Mummery, who is Alberta Health Services’ director for Children, Youth and Families – Addiction and Mental Health Services for the Edmonton region, says the project will provide options for families who find themselves in the emergency department during a child’s mental health crisis. “The CAPA approach is going to encourage our

clinical providers to talk to families in a more structured way so that they can listen to the options and then agree to the plan that best suits them,” Mummery says. “That’s the attraction from our perspective: getting a more consistent structured approach so that we know that families have been given all the options.”

Giving families those options and,

ultimately, the best care possible is also the goal of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, which has committed a total of $150,000 to the project through WCHRI, to be distributed over two years.

“We hear from families that it’s difficult to find acute mental health care for kids when it’s needed,” says Katherine Captain, the Foundation’s mental health campaign director.

“We’re excited to invest in important research by people like Amanda and her team to help improve mental health for children, youth and their families.”

The initiative is unique in that a research study, headed by Newton and Stephen Freedman at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, is happening in conjunction with the real-time implementation of the bundle of new practices. In February 2020, the researchers began collecting data on patient feedback regarding satisfaction and well-being (as well as more objective measures) to understand the impact of the current state of care.

After 12 months of that, the new practices will be introduced and Newton will continue to collect data to compare the bundle’s impact on families.

Newton is excited that the project involves implementing and assessing the new approach simultaneously and is hopeful that all of the stakeholders will continue with the new practices beyond the period of data collection.

“My goal would be to set up an evaluative framework that is embedded within AHS systems and resources,” Newton says. “While we may finish after the period that we’re funded for, there will be something left there afterwards that builds capacity in terms of performance measurement, evaluation, and quality improvement. So not only are we using the money that we’ve been given wisely, but it will have an ongoing impact moving forward.”

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While They’re Young Albertans agree: Children deserve better support for mental health. The Stollery’s pediatric consultation and liaison psychiatry team is up to the task.

BY ROBBIE JEFFREY • PHOTO BY LAUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY DR. HEIDI WILKES (CENTRE) WITH FELLOW MEMBERS OF THE STOLLERY PCLP TEAM.

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teamwork when a psychiatric team is involved healthy life — and, since mental health early on. is as important as physical health, “Without the full picture of what the patients should be assessed for psychichild’s experience is — that includes atric illnesses just like they’re assessed biological, psychological and social for medical ones. Formerly led by care experiences — you’re really limited in manager Mark Stime, the PCLP team what kinds of treatment suggestions comprises five child psychiatrists, two nurses, psychiatric residents, a psychol- you can make,” says Dr. Heidi Wilkes, a physician and consulting pediatric ogist, an occupational therapist and a n addressing mental psychiatrist on the PCLP team. “If program secretary, and is run through illness, society has we overlook the psychiatric the Children, Youth and Famicome a long way. component, we’re missing lies - Addiction and Mental Thanks in part to opportunities to improve Health services portfolio. national campaigns long-term outcomes.”

When a child or like Mental Health Week and MenStime, a regisyouth is admitted of mental health tal Illness Awareness Week, which tered nurse who has to the Stollery’s problems begin encourage outspoken dialogue about worked in children’s inpatient unit with in childhood and the importance of mental health, mental health for 24 symptoms of mental adolescence. we’re more aware and less judgmental years, agrees, but adds illness, such as overof mental illness than ever before. that the team does more dosing on medication or But that awareness doesn’t always than just help children poor adjusting to a meditranslate to investments and changes cal procedure or illness, they on-site at the Stollery — it to the mental health-care system to can be seen by a psychiatric nurse also co-ordinates with a network of improve timely, co-ordinated access and a psychiatrist from the liaison mental health professionals and other to services — and this is particularly team for a consultation. Depending professionals throughout Alberta true for children. Seventy per cent of on the outcome of the consultation, Health Services and other community mental health problems begin in child- other members of the team, such as a agencies to make sure children find the hood and adolescence. Yet, according psychologist or occupational therapist, right support for their needs. to a study in The Canadian Journal of may support the patient and family “Our motto has always been that Psychiatry, 75 per cent of children with with their expertise. any door should lead to the right mental health issues don’t access the Assessing psychiatric illnesses in door,” Stime says. “So, once the child medical services they need. tandem with medical illnesses might is medically stabilized, the consultaThe Stollery’s pediatric consultaseem like common sense, but it wasn’t tion team will see whether they need tion and liaison psychiatry (PCLP) always common practice. And, as we support within the Hospital, or to be team is trying to fill that vacuum. It’s learn more and more every day, it’s transferred for an increased level of premised on the simple idea that every crucial. Medical literature shows that psychiatric supports somewhere else, child should get their best chance at a some hospitalizations are shorter like the acute inpatient adolescent and children’s units at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Or, we can do a safety planning and provide the family with resources so they can find community programs to support their needs, which may include connecting with a WITHOUT THE FULL PICTURE OF WHAT THE CHILD’S therapist.” The PCLP team’s support, EXPERIENCE IS — THAT INCLUDES BIOLOGICAL, he adds, is part of how “we help norPSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL EXPERIENCES malize mental illness for these kids.”

“Normalize.” That word is key.

— YOU’RE REALLY LIMITED IN WHAT KINDS OF Mental illness gets more “normal” by TREATMENT SUGGESTIONS YOU CAN MAKE. the day. After working in the inpatient mental health units at the Glenrose DR . HEIDI W IL K E S Rehabilitation Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Stime joined the

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teamwork PCLP team 11 years ago, just a year after it was created. This roughly corresponds to a precipitous rise in the need for mental health treatment.

According to Alberta Health Services’ Addiction and Mental Health, the past nine years have seen a 200 per cent increase in new children referred for mental health support, totaling about 750 kids every month. In a recent survey from the Stollery, 96 per cent of respondents in northern Alberta identified children’s health, and specifically their mental health, as a top health-care priority for them and their families.

That’s why the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation has been there for the PCLP team since the start.

In its early days, the team was fully

funded by the Foundation, which has also funded other on-site Hospital initiatives like an addiction counsellor and a joint venture called Managing Your Chronic Illness (teaching life skills to teens with chronic illness).

Katherine Captain, the Foundation’s director of development and mental health campaign, says the investment in the team demonstrates the Stollery’s, and the Foundation’s, commitment to pediatric mental health care.

“It’s amazing to know there’s a consultation team where kids’ health can be addressed on a holistic level to ensure advanced, family-centred care is available,” Captain says. “The Stollery is known for world-class care, and [the liaison team] is just another

example of how we’re investing in the right people to deliver the right care so kids get the best chance at a long and healthy life.”

For Mark Stime, the journey was personal, too. “I remained with this team for a long time, and they’ve stuck it out with me,” he says, thinking back on the last 11 years. “I’m very fortunate to have worked with a dedicated, compassionate team of professionals.”

The public conversation around mental health has changed dramatically, but conversation doesn’t mean anything without action. As Stime’s PCLP teammate, Dr. Wilkes, puts it: “I can’t think of anything more important than a child’s developing brain, and working actively as a team to protect those brains seems like common sense.”

MADDI WITH HER PARENTS, JESSICA AND MARCUS, AND YOUNGER SIBLINGS BRYNLEE AND CARTER.

ON THE OUTSIDE, Maddi Dewald appears to be a typical eight-year-old. She loves to dance, snowboard, and play with her dog, Zoey. On the inside, however, the little girl from Wetaskiwin, Alberta, has epilepsy, as well as a number of mental and neuro-developmental health concerns.

In 2016, after displaying a particularly high level of anxiety during a medical procedure related to her epilepsy, Maddi (four years old at the time) was referred to a psychiatrist with the Stollery psychiatric consultation and liaison team and was subsequently diagnosed with anxiety, ADHD and sensory processing disorder.

She also has a learning

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disability and struggles with reading and math.

To help them manage Maddi’s mental and neurodevelopmental health concerns, the Dewalds were then referred to a behaviour modification program at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital. The program has taught Maddi’s

parents strategies to prevent a meltdown or redirect an unwanted behaviour. Maddi also takes ADHD medication once a day.

Though Maddi’s mental health disorders continue to bring challenges to both her and her family, the treatments and strategies provided

through the Stollery and Glenrose have helped bring a sense of comfort and support to the Dewalds.

“You look at Maddi and see a bright, beautiful child who is laughing and full of life,” says Maddi’s mom, Jessica.

“She doesn’t let anything hold her back.”

PHOTO BY COOPER & O’HARA

Meet Maddi

extra life

Extra Love

FOR EXTRA LIFE Lisa Hawthorne is helping Stollery kids through the power of play

PHOTO BY CORDELL MOORE PHOTOGRAPHY

BY COURTNEY GILLIS

NINE YEARS AGO, Lisa Hawthorne was looking for a meaningful way to give back to the Stollery after her nephew who has autism received care at the Hospital. When she attended a Startup Edmonton presentation for computer programmers, she learned about Extra Life Edmonton and knew she’d found her fit — a welcoming community of gamers that fundraises for Stollery kids. Fast forward nine years and Lisa is now the volunteer president of Extra Life Edmonton, championing a team that helps hundreds of fundraisers play games and heal kids.

Extra Life is a Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) initiative where people of all ages play games of all types — from Twister to Uno to Lisa’s personal favourite, Final Fantasy — to raise money for their local children’s hospital. Since 2008, Extra Lifers across North America have raised more than $70 million USD through playing video games, board games and sports.

Now in her second year as president, Lisa oversees a guild of 17 passionate volunteers who dedicate their free time to Extra Life and sharing information with the gaming community about its impact on children’s health. Through their efforts, Extra Life Edmonton has grown from 30 fundraisers to more than 800 across northern Alberta, and raised more than $1 million for Stollery kids since 2011.

“Lisa, the guild and all the gamers bring a tremendous energy and make a life-changing difference for Stollery families,” says Angela Bennett, a development officer with the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.

“The money they raise through Extra Life helps to fund urgent needs at the Hospital, including specialized equipment, programs, training and research that benefits kids from backyards across Alberta.”

Thanks to the guild, gaming conventions in Edmonton and communities such as Leduc and Spruce Grove now fundraise for the Stollery. With 39 per cent of Stollery inpatients coming from outside the Edmonton zone last year, Lisa’s goal is to continue to expand Extra Life into the northern Alberta communities the Hospital serves.

A senior data analyst at Epcor by day, Lisa uses her free time to go all-in with Extra Life — calling it her labour of love.

“Whatever we do, it’s nothing compared to what the kids go through,” says Lisa.

Her passion for Extra Life comes not only from the opportunity to have fun while making a difference with community-minded gamers, but also from the opportunity to meet Stollery kids who take part in Extra Life and share stories about their medical journeys.

One Stollery kid Lisa is especially excited to meet is Kaden, this year’s Stollery Champion who loves gaming (see page 10). When she heard his story, she knew he’d fit right in with the Extra Life team.

“Kaden’s journey is inspiring,” says Lisa. “He doesn’t know what he’s in for — this is the best group of gamers.”

Whether Extra Life participants fundraise for one day or year-round, they’re invited to participate in a 24-hour gaming marathon in the fall — Lisa’s favourite day of the year.

“Game day celebrates people who work hard all year to make a difference for kids,” says Lisa. “It’s a time where we game together and celebrate what we’ve achieved. We get to do what we love with the best group of people.”

While Lisa and the guild don’t know whether this year’s game day will be in person or held as a virtual event due to the coronavirus pandemic, they do know one thing for certain: it’s always a good time to help vulnerable Stollery kids in your community.

Learn more and join Extra Life Edmonton at extra-life.org.

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Generations of Giving For Brian Austrom, giving back to the Stollery is only natural

BY GEOFF GEDDES

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ccording to Camrosebased Brian Austrom, the work supported by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation has been an important presence in his life — and the lives of his loved ones — for three generations. From treating his daughter, Melissa, for asthma when she was 10 years old, to treating his grandson Clayton for seizures years later, children’s hospitals, he says, have played a vital role in the well-being of his family.

When Melissa and her mother (Austrom’s first wife) were tragically killed in a car accident in 1997, Austrom donated to the Children’s Health Foundation of Northern Alberta (which was the original name of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation) in Melissa’s memory, and he has been donating annually to the Foundation ever since. To date, he has donated more than $25,000.

But his giving hasn’t stopped there.

Over the years, he has also volunteered his time and advocacy efforts in support of the Foundation.

“Brian is an amazing individual,” says Cyndi Matthews, senior development officer for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. “He is someone we can call anytime and he is glad to help. We’re grateful for his financial assistance and volunteer work, but he

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makes a difference on so many levels.”

Among the many hats Austrom wears for the Foundation is that of community connector. When the Stollery needed funds for a new pediatric operating unit in 2015, Austrom — who had previously served as the Camrose county manager — called on his hometown connections in Camrose to help raise more than $500,000 as part of the Battle River Community Initiative. (That amount included a generous donation of $100,000 from Flagstaff County.) And when one of the Stollery’s donors wished to leave a legacy gift for the Hospital, Austrom stepped up again to assist the gentleman before he passed away, gently guiding the man through the donation

THIS HOSPITAL BENEFITS ALL OF ALBERTA AND WESTERN CANADA, SO WE ARE HAPPY TO DO WHAT WE CAN. BRIAN AUSTROM

process and helping to communicate the meaningful impact of his gift.

It may be challenging work at times, but supporting the Stollery is always an easy decision for Austrom and his second wife, Bonnie. Now retired, the couple travel the world, feeding their passion for hiking and exploring — but all roads lead back to the Stollery.

“This Hospital benefits all of Alberta and Western Canada, so we are happy to do what we can,” says Austrom.

“Bonnie and I are grateful for the chance to provide support and really spread the word about this amazing resource for our province. We’ve had numerous friends and relatives bring their kids to the Stollery. One of my grandsons has been there three times for seizures since 2017 and received incredible care, and another grandson is very active in fundraising, so it’s really a family affair.”

Though his respect for the work done at children’s hospitals began with his late daughter’s treatment, it has grown exponentially over the years as he’s learned more about the Stollery and its staff.

“The Stollery is there for everyone.

Its doors are always open, and the doctors and nurses do everything in their power to help children in need. If you feel compelled to give some of your time or money to make a difference, there is no better cause.”

from the heart

BRIAN AUSTROM (CENTRE) WITH HIS FAMILY, PRE COVID-19.

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reflections

Getting Involved In her own words, Cristina Milite reflects on her remarkable efforts in raising funds and awareness for child and youth mental health and community wellness CRISTINA MILITE DURING A PIZZA CHALLENGE AT A WHEELS FOR WELLNESS CHECKPOINT.

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hile I don’t have many regrets, I always wish that my brother could have experienced the Stollery’s care and innovation. My brother was born long before the Stollery existed, and his strong spirit gave us 33 wonderful years before leaving us. I can’t help but wonder how different things might have

been if he had been able to access the expert care at the Stollery. All I can do is move forward and try to help others so that no one else has to spend time looking back.

This is why I donate my time and heart to Wheels for Wellness, a collaborative charity event put on by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and the Mental Health Foundation. As

a co-chair on the organizing committee, I help to put on this one-of-a-kind car rally that features unique mental and physical challenges at checkpoints all around our beautiful city.

I participate each year and trust me when I say, you’ll never experience an event quite like this — we’ve kicked field goals at Commonwealth Stadium, driven ETS busses through a driving course and trained like firefighters.

And the best part is, you get to do it all while making a difference for two important foundations who split the funds in support of child and youth mental health and community wellness.

This year, I’m co-chair alongside three amazing people. Wheels for Wellness is set for September 26, 2020 (dependent on coronavirus guidelines), and our goal is to raise awareness and funds with the help of our participants and sponsors.

As a participant, I was able to raise more than $4,000 in just 10 days through my network of friends, family and co-workers. I’ve learned that it’s not always easy to ask for help, to hold out your hand or to find a place to start, but it is easy to remember why you give back. And once you start fundraising, it just keeps getting easier. Share your why, focus on what would get your attention if roles were reversed, and start there.

Want to get involved in this unforgettable event? Learn more at wheelsforwellness.ca.

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Host a virtual or in-person donation day at your company; turn cost for your services into a donation

Host a virtual or in-person party, event, tournament or games night and ask guests to BYOD (Bring Your Own Donation)

Leverage your social media platforms; make videos talking about why you’re participating and how your network can help you

Google fun fundraising ideas to host virtually or in-person with friends or co-workers like “Wine Survivor” (Wine?

You’re welcome!)

Ask someone to make a large donation to your goal in exchange for naming your team

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PHOTO BY ALLYSON-MAE TRELOAR

CRISTINA’S 5 WAYS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR WHEELS FOR WELLNESS

Donate to honour a Hospital staff member or team who helped you when you needed it most.

Your donation supports specialized equipment, training, research and programs at the Hospital.

Donate today to honour your Stollerific Care Giver.

stollerific.com | #stollerific | 780.433.KIDS (5437)

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Avery Maskwacis, AB

Adelaide Grande Prairie, AB

To all the front-line physical and mental health doctors, nurses and support staff, especially those caring for Stollery kids from backyards across Alberta,

thank you Porter Onoway, AB

for your dedication in the face of COVID-19.

Cameron Edmonton, AB