Heroes - Fall 2016

STORIES FROM THE STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION • FALL 2016

BREATHING EASIER Stollery’s respiratory services team deals with complex situations across two hospitals

BRIDGING THE GAP Dr. Aisha Bruce works to help new Canadians suffering from sickle cell disease

Champion Child Sophia Ricci is driving circles around pulmonary hypertension thanks to Stollery specialists

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IN WITH THE NEW Corporate donors bring Stollery operating room redevelopment from concept to reality

PLUS: STOLLERY SUPERSTARS GET THEIR CHANCE TO SHINE AT K-DAYS PARTY

THIS ISSUE OF HEROES IS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY YACHIMEC AUTO GROUP

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Making a donation to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation is the perfect way to spread joy this season and make a life-changing difference for Stollery kids and their families.

With a minimum donation of $10, we will provide you with an eCard to share with your valued employees, customers, clients, family and friends.

Visit stollerykids.com or contact our community initiatives team at 780.433.5437 to make our eCards a part of your holiday giving tradition.

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The strength of a wish. The fight for life.

contents FALL 2016

Departments 5 FIFTEEN YEARS OF THANKS! A message from the president and CEO of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation

6 FOUNDATIONS OF LIFE

32 Stollery Family

23 TECH FILES High-speed electric drills make life easier for ear surgery patients and doctors

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20 THERE WHEN YOU NEED THEM Patients and families can breathe easier thanks to the respiratory services team at the Stollery

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24 REACHING OUT Dr. Aisha Bruce bridges the gap to help new Canadians deal with sickle cell anemia

37 ANOTHER CHANCE Don Granoski and the ECLS team give sick kids an opportunity to take that next step in recovery

26 MILESTONE Newly opened OR redevelopment wouldn’t be possible without support from corporate donors like CNRL

Features 10 15 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE

Stollery Children’s Hospital

Over the past decade and a half, the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation has hit a number of milestones along the path to providing the best care for sick kids

12 TRENDING UPWARDS This year’s Children’s Miracle Network Champion Child, Sophia Ricci, and her family are bouncing back from idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension

18 COMING FULL CIRCLE

12 ON THE COVER: ­Children’s Miracle ­Network ­Champion Child, Sophia Ricci.

PHOTO: Cooper & O’Hara STOLLERYKIDS.COM

Once a patient at the Stollery, Cora Carter now works to raise money to help make things better for those who are now in her shoes

30 WHY I DONATE Grandmother’s $100-a-month donation made all the more poignant after granddaughter is admitted to the Stollery

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34 CORPORATE HERO Safeway employees give from the heart to help out the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation

36 VOLUNTEER HERO Richard Kirby is thrilled to take the reins as chair of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation’s board of trustees

38 THE LAST WORD

32 YOUTH PHILANTHROPIST Draxton Homan’s efforts to raise awareness for the Stollery are just as important as his efforts to raise money

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CharityBear_Heroes_October12_2016.pdf 1 10/13/2016 12:03:23 PM

BUY

Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation

LARGE $25 SMALL $15

BOARD OF TRUSTEES: CHAIR: RICHARD KIRBY, LLB, MBA, FELESKY FLYNN LLP VICE-CHAIR: LINDSAY DODD, B.Comm., MBA, Savvia Inc. PAST CHAIR: T. MARSHALL SADD, Lloyd Sadd Insurance Brokers LAURIE ANDERSON, CMA, WAM Development Group RICHARD BALAN, RTA Holdings Ltd. KELLY BLACKETT, Canadian Western Bank JEFF BRYSON, The Stollery Charitable Foundation JONATHAN CHIA, Maclab Properties Group JACQUELYN COLVILLE, CA, CPA, ICD.D., Alberta Investment Management Corporation DR. ALF CONRADI, Stollery Children’s Hospital DAVID G. FILIPCHUK, P.Eng., PCL Constructors Inc. NOAH JONES, BA, CFP, CLU, Fairley Erker Advisory Group ROD MACKENZIE, P.Eng., Legato Resources Ltd. STEPHEN PETASKY, The LUXUS Group RYAN POMEROY, Pomeroy Lodging LP IAN W. REYNOLDS, QC, ICD.D., Bennett Jones LLP SHAMI SANDHU, ICD.D., RE/MAX River City CORY D. WOSNACK, Avison Young DR. GREG ZESCHUK, Blind Enthusiasm Group

FALL 2016 VOL 4 • No. 4

ASSOCIATE EDITOR: ALEESHA JEX PRESIDENT & CEO: MIKE HOUSE, MBA Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation

your charity bear today!

THIS YEAR’S CHARITY BEAR IS NAMED AFTER OUR 2015-16 CHAMPION CHILD, PRESENTED BY WALMART.

EX OFFICIO: DR. RICHARD FEDORAK, University of Alberta DR. SUSAN GILMOUR, University of Alberta and Stollery Children’s Hospital DR. CHRISTINE KYRIAKIDES, Stollery Children’s Hospital DR. DAVID MADOR, Alberta Health Services CHRISTINE WESTERLUND, Stollery Children’s Hospital

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VENTURE PUBLISHING INC. PUBLISHER: RUTH KELLY EDITOR: GLENN COOK ART DIRECTOR: CHARLES BURKE DESIGNER: ANDREW WEDMAN PRODUCTION MANAGER: BETTY FENIAK PRODUCTION TECHNICIANS: BRENT FELZIEN, BRANDON HOOVER DISTRIBUTION: KAREN REILLY

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Derek Schenk

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Martin Dover, Anglia Redding, Melanie Rutten, Christopher Schieman, Taylor Woodworth CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ILLUSTRATORS: Cooper & O’Hara, Shelby Deep, Ray of Light Photography, Eugene Uhuad, Nicki Wohland

WIN ME!

The bear!

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(for pe t the bike

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purposes

Win one of five JUMBO Derek bears!

Available at participating

Content may not be reprinted or reproduced without permission from the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.

only)

Enter today at test stollerykids.com/con Proudly supporting

ABOUT THE STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION The Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation funds excellence at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. Excellence comes in many forms: specialized equipment; sub-specialty education to train the brightest medical minds; research to discover new treatments and cures; and specialized pediatric programs that improve family- centred care, and patient and family outcomes.

HEROES is published for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation by Venture Publishing Inc., 10259-105 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 1E3 Tel: 780-990-0839, Fax: 780-425-4921, Toll-free: 1-866-227-4276 circulation@venturepublishing.ca Printed in Canada by Burke Group of Companies Limited.

Heroes is printed on Forest Stewardship Council® certified paper Publications Agreement # 40012957 Return undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation 1502 College Plaza, 8215 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2C8 All fundraising totals are listed as gross unless otherwise specified.

For more information on fundraising targets and expenses, please contact the Foundation at 780-433-5437.

STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

FOUNDATION message

Fifteen years of thanks!

E AC H Y E A R , T H A N KS G I V I N G I S T H E PE R FE C T T I M E for us to pause, reflect and appreciate all that we have in life. I, for one, am truly thankful for you — our readers, supporters and donors — and for all you do for us throughout the year.

This is a milestone year for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation as we celebrate 15 years of funding excellence at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. Together with your continuous support, we have built a children’s hospital that rivals the best in the world — and we’re far from done. Our vision is to give the sickest kids the best chance, anywhere in the world, to live a long and healthy life. With your help, we are making huge strides in creating a Stollery network of care in communities across northern Alberta.

While we look ahead, it’s also important to look back and celebrate our many successes as a result of your unwavering support over the past 15 years. From creating a pediatric centre of excellence and opening the first dedicated children’s emergency in northern Alberta to investing in groundbreaking research and attracting some of the best health professionals the world has to offer, you are the reason the Stollery is one of Canada’s most specialized children’s hospitals. Check out our timeline illustration on page 10 to get a glimpse of what we’ve achieved together.

One of our biggest milestones of late is the opening of the $36-million operating area at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. With $7 million in donor funding for this and future projects, this redeveloped space is having a tremendously positive impact on children, youth and families, as well as the hundreds of staff members who work there. Increased operating space, leading-edge equipment and improved family-centred care services are the “difference between day and night,” according to unit manager Rita Young.

The space includes five new OR suites, two procedure rooms – one of which is a state-of-the-art endoscopy suite – a day ward and a recovery room. This new space is the pride of the Hospital and it’s thanks to close to a dozen groups and corporations who are changing how health care is delivered in Alberta. Please read “Big Donations, Big Thanks” on page 26 to learn more about these incredible donors.

We all know change inevitably happens over time. You only have to look at one of the Foundation’s newest employees to see the full-circle effects of fundraising. Cora Carter went from having seizures and surviving a brain tumour at age 14 to becoming our annual giving co-ordinator at age 24.

Cora now connects directly with donors to raise money for other kids and families going through similar journeys.

This brave young woman is an inspiration to our entire team because she hasn’t let her health stop her from achieving her goals. When her tumour returned three years ago, Cora underwent more radiation and another operation at the Stollery. Now, not only does she work in fundraising for the Stollery, she volunteers at a camp funded by the Foundation that helps kids

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PHOTO: NICKI WOHLAND

BY Mike House, MBA President & CEO, Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation

FLOAT ON: Mike House (right) aboard the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation’s K-Days parade float with Pat Lavin from WorleyParsonsCord (left) and Stollery kid Theodore Toth and his parents Dariel and Joel. who have brain and spinal injuries (see “Coming Full Circle” on page 18).

Just like Cora, other Stollery kids are realizing there is no better time to make a difference than right now! Fourteen-year-old Draxton Homan has raised more than $15,000 with the help of his minor hockey team as part of the Stollery Family Day Classic. He also participates in the annual Hair Massacure fundraiser, where he shaves his head for donations. Draxton’s reason for giving back? The Stollery saved his life.

Draxton was born without a valve leading to his stomach, which means he couldn’t keep any food down. After surgery at only nine months old, followed by years of follow-up visits and procedures at the Stollery, Draxton is now a healthy, active 14-year-old who raises both money and awareness to the importance of this hospital to kids in our community.

We can all learn a thing or two from Draxton’s resilience and I encourage you to read his story “Giving Back” on page 32.

We all know the expression, “No time to waste.” That is certainly the case for the extracorporeal life support (ECLS) team at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. Lead by Don Granoski, the ECLS team consists of more than 50 nurses and respiratory therapists who provide life-saving bedside care to dozens of kids and youth each year with severe respiratory and cardiac failure.

The fast response by the ECLS team gives the patient more time. One world-renowned procedure involves circulating a patient’s blood outside of the body, pumping it through an artificial lung to add oxygen, and then returning the oxygenated blood to the bloodstream (see “Another Chance” on page 37). This gives a damaged heart more time to recover, providing health care workers with more time to provide the best care. This amazing technology is getting more kids back on their feet sooner and allowing them to return home, get back to school and live the life they deserve to live. This is just one of the many reasons we are thankful to all our supporters, families and experts at the Stollery.

As you can see, time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters. It gives us greater appreciation for what we have. It shapes who we are through our individual and shared experiences. It teaches us vital lessons. It gives us the space to learn and grow. And it reminds us to take the time to savour and appreciate who we are and what we have. Thank you for taking the time to read this issue of Heroes and here’s wishing you a healthy and happy fall season.

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Battle River Steps Up about the Battle River Community Initiative (BRCI) and its goal to raise $500,000 for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, he wasn’t sure he wanted to get involved.

“I thought, ‘In this economy, that’s going to be tough.’ In fact, I think I said, ‘I don’t even think that’s going to be possible,’” says the owner of Lamb Ford and Tee-Pee Trade & RV Centre in Camrose and committee member of the BRCI. But he did get involved and, by the middle of September 2016, the BRCI had met its fundraising goal. The BRCI received money from individuals in Camrose and the surrounding area, but also had donations from local governments – including $100,000 from Flagstaff County – businesses and from community groups like local 4-H clubs. Cliff recalls two 4-H auctions; the first took place in Killam, raising $20,000.

The second, where one steer was auctioned off and re-donated a total of seven times, raised $63,750. The calf was donated and raised by Carson, a Rosalind 4-H member – he named the Stollery steer “Miracle.”

“We’re so thrilled with our community and the area we operate in here,” says Cliff,

who also notes that, while he has donated to many worthwhile causes in his 35 years as a businessperson in Camrose, this is the first time he had been involved in the actual fundraising.

Cliff got involved in the BRCI because his granddaughter, Macy, spent five months in the Stollery Children’s Hospital after being born premature and undergoing three surgical procedures to deal with various complications.

(Macy was profiled in the Winter 2016 issue of Heroes.) The $500,000 will help fund the new pediatric operating room redevelopment. Other BRCI committee members include his son Brett (Macy’s father), Brian Austrom and Rod Ross.

Cyndi Matthews, a development officer for the Foundation, says the initiative is a great example of the power of a community coming together and is something for which the Foundation is very grateful.

“Through their connections in rural Alberta, they have built new relationships and engaged individuals and businesses to learn more about the Stollery,” she says. “They have led by example to show the importance of contributing time, resources and donations to help ensure the Stollery Children’s Hospital continues to provide

$500,000 RAISED

excellence in care to the sickest and most critically injured children. Their hearts led the campaign; they were all in it for the kids.”

From the early days of the campaign, the Battle River Community Foundation kindly partnered with the Stollery, providing a vehicle to flow funds from community members. Vision Credit Union helped them reach the finish line with a commitment to give $100,000.

PHOTO COURTESY WORLEYPARSONSCORD LTD.

WHEN CLIFF DENHAM FIRST HEARD

MORE THAN

The Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation float was a colourful addition to the K-Days Parade in Edmonton on July 22. The Foundation’s entry greeted parade-goers all along the downtown route, and even took home the Chairman’s Award. The Foundation would like to thank all the vendors who contributed to the float, including key contributors Art Attack, Norpoint Sandblasting & Painting Ltd., Myshak Sales & Rentals Ltd., and WorleyParsonsCord Ltd.

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STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

A Helping Hand THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND JAX MANASTERSKI’S FUNDRAISING is a simple one.

The seven-year-old Spruce Grove resident recently wrapped up a year-long fundraiser benefiting the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation in which he sold lemonade, baked goods and crafts at markets in towns throughout east-central Alberta. All told, he was able to hand over a cheque for $3,132 to the Foundation.

But all that effort boils down to a simple truth: “No kid deserves to be sick,” says Jax. Jax first set up his booth at markets in Vermilion, Kitscoty and Mannville. The family moved to Spruce Grove in September 2015, and Jax continued on at markets there and in Stony Plain. His mother, Amanda, has also helped him run a number of successful auctions on Facebook for items including jewelry from Mirra Designs and wooden signs from the Art Shak in Cochrane.

“The people that helped him, it’s amazing to see them come together and be willing to spend hours working on things, and then give it to him to raise money with,” says Amanda. “Even the stories from people [who have had personal experiences with the Hospital], they can be very sad. It’s been an emotional journey this past year.”

But, aside from raising money for sick children, Jax’s fundraiser has had another unexpected benefit.

“He got to come out of his shell. He’s a very shy kid,” Amanda says.

“At the markets, I would just sit to the back, and he would have to say

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RAISED hello to everybody that walked by and have a conversation with them.”

She adds that she’s just as proud of him for that as she is for his fundraising efforts.

“I’m happy that he’s helping people, but it’s exciting and nice to see what it has done for him,” she says.

Going forward, Jax plans to keep raising money for the Foundation, and raise spirits of parents who have children in the Hospital by handing out bracelets and cards.

You can follow Jax’s fundraising efforts at facebook.com/ jaxshelpinghand.

Ringing In the New Year RICHARD TOMSKI SURE KNOWS HOW TO THROW A PARTY. Richard is the organizer of the Edmonton International New Year’s Eve Gala, which returns to the Beverly Hills Ballroom in the Fantasyland Hotel at West Edmonton Mall this year with music, dancing, decadent food, high-flying entertainment and the chance to bid on some amazing silent auction items. Proceeds from ticket sales and the silent auction benefit the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, helping to fund specialized training, programs, equipment and research to make sure the Stollery remains among the best children’s hospitals in the country.

Richard – who also serves as the gala’s DJ – said he was inspired to put on a fundraiser for the Foundation after seeing what some of the kids at the Stollery were going through while working nearby.

“When I was having [lunch] there, I would watch the kids sometimes coming for ice cream or lemonade with their parents. Some of them were bald and had tubes coming from their [bodies],” he says. “I said, ‘My God, kids should not suffer like that.’ … I just thought, ‘If I can help, do something once a year or twice a year … if I can help in any way, that would be nice.’ ” Richard has been holding the NYE Gala at the Fantasyland Hotel for the past six years now but supported the Foundation well before that.

He would often throw fundraisers throughout the year at venues like the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald or the River Cree Resort and Casino, but has since focused his efforts on this one big party.

Folks who come out to the gala can expect “nothing but the best,”

STOLLERYKIDS.COM

Richard says – that includes a lively atmosphere, amazing food from the Fantasyland Hotel’s acclaimed chefs, and aerial acrobatic entertainment from former members of Cirque du Soleil.

As for the silent auction, Richard has already lined up a boxing glove signed by Rocky star Sylvester Stallone and a tour poster from 1970 signed by the Godfather of Soul himself, the late James Brown.

Tickets for the Edmonton International New Year’s Eve Gala are $160 each and are available through the gala’s website at www.edgala.com.

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Giving Spirit AS ONE OF EDMONTON’S BEST-KNOWN EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY companies and the Santa Claus photographer of choice for many shopping malls in the city, Special Events (digital) Photo takes a lot of photos of children with Santa every year. But there’s one photo shoot in particular that is extra special and would not be missed for anything. That photo shoot is their annual visit to the Stollery Children’s Hospital.

Company co-owner Dean Skoubis and Santa Claus, in conjunction with Northgate Centre, join the team at the Stollery on the first Monday of December every year to provide all of the children who are not able to leave the Hospital with a chance to visit with the jolly old elf and get a holiday photo. Special Events (digital) Photo has been making this event happen for the past 12 years and it has become one of the most important dates on their calendar.

However, Special Events (digital) Photo’s relationship with the Stollery does not end there – nor did it start there! This special relationship began more than 15 years ago with the company’s involvement in the annual Stollery Snowflake Gala. Special Events (digital) Photo has been providing photo services to this important event for many years and looks forward to doing so for many more.

Trish Skoubis, co-owner and founder of Special Events (digital) Photo, has always had a soft spot for children’s charities and was thrilled when she was given the opportunity to get involved. Her love of children and genuine commitment to helping fund the valuable programs and services provided by the Stollery motivated her to take her company’s involvement and giving one step further.

In addition to these fantastic events, they also work with five major shopping centres in the Edmonton area to raise funds during the Christmas season. Since 2011, Special Events (digital) Photo has partnered with Southgate Centre, Mill Woods Town Centre, Northgate Centre, Sherwood

Park Mall and Londonderry Mall to help keep the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation and its programs well-funded. On the first three Mondays in December, Special Events (digital) Photo donates 10 per cent of their Santa photo sales at these malls to the Stollery, and the five malls actually match their donation, making for a total contribution of 20 per cent of Santa photo sales on those special days.

Their contributions to the Stollery don’t stop once the holiday season is complete. Each year, the company also helps the Foundation’s annual Tee Up For Tots golf tournament by providing photo services. It is important to both Trish and her son, Dean, to continue the giving cycle year-round. “We are so fortunate to have such a facility in the city of Edmonton,” Trish says. “I think it’s absolutely wonderful.”

Taking Aim OVER THE SUMMER, THE EDMONTON GUN CLUB TOOK AIM AT making a big donation to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.

On August 27, the club held its annual fundraiser and, for the first time, the proceeds were donated to the Foundation, helping advance children’s health care for the sickest kids in Alberta and beyond. In total, they raised $17,000 through the Shoot for the Stollery event, held at the club’s range near the Edmonton International Airport.

The club has held fundraisers like this for the past nine or 10 years, says Edmonton Gun Club president Jack Broadfoot, with the proceeds previously going toward Parkinson’s disease research. But the club changed things up because of some personal ties members have to the Hospital, including neighbours and clients who work there or have family who have been treated there.

“Shawn McNeil, one of the top shooters in Alberta, from Airdrie, his daughter has had two heart operations there,” Jack says. “We just thought it was a good time to make the switch.”

Darren Bruneau, an Edmonton Gun Club member, also has a son who spent two months in the Hospital when he was a baby.

Shooters came from across Alberta, even as far away as Athabasca and High Prairie, to take part in the event, and from all walks of life.

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“It’s right across the board,” Jack says. “We’ve got a veterinarian and his daughter that shoot with us regularly. We’ve got lawyers, doctors, construction workers – a whole pile of people.”

The Edmonton Gun Club would like to recognize and thank Ron and Geri Dawson for all of their efforts in helping to organize the Shoot for the Stollery. They would also like to thank the presenting sponsor, Wholesale Sports, as well as the 30 other sponsors that helped to make this year’s event such a success.

For more information on the Edmonton Gun Club, visit edmontongunclub.com.

STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

Small Kids, Big Hearts Children’s Hospital Foundation got their chance to shine at a special party thrown in their honour in July.

The first-ever Stollery Superstars Party took place at K-Days, recognizing the many young people who have raised money for the Foundation over the past year to help fellow children who are in the Hospital.

“Each of the 96 Stollery Superstars in the room made a difference to the patients and families at the Stollery. To say thank you one more time, and let them know how special they are, is a privilege that the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation has. We are so proud of them,” says community initiatives co-ordinator Tannis Peterkin.

Kids honoured at the party raised money for the Foundation in a number of ways, including lemonade stands, bake sales and asking for donations in lieu of birthday presents. Over the previous fiscal year, Stollery Superstars raised a total of more than $318,000 for the Foundation to invest in the best people, programs, equipment and research needed to care for the sickest kids from across MORE THAN Western Canada.

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Our HUGE thanks go to the Stollery Superstar kids from across Alberta who raised more than $318,000* last year for equipment, training, programs and research at the Hospital.

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Top Fundraiser, age 4 – 7: Natalia Custodio $1,608

Top Fundraiser, age 13 – 17: Siena Scozzafava $1,073

Top Fundraiser, age 8 – 12: Katrina Nguyen $3,496

Top Fundraising Group: Lemonade Stand in Memory of Moses Felix $18,450

Top School Fundraiser: Lillian Osborne High School’s Rockathon $47,153

Stollery Superstar of the Year: Philippa Madill, 10 years of lemonade stands

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Special thanks to our presenting sponsors who made our first-ever Stollery Superstars Party possible. *Gross revenue. For more information on fundraising targets and expenses, please contact our Foundation at 780.433.5437.

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PHOTOS: RAY OF LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY

THE SUPERSTAR KIDS WHO RAISE MONEY FOR THE STOLLERY

15 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE Together, we’ve given more than $108 million since 2001 to fund the best equipment and facilities, training, research and programs at the Stollery Children’s Hospital.

You make it possible for the Hospital to provide world-class care for the sickest kids from Western Canada and beyond so more kids can live longer, healthier lives.

We’re proud to share with you a few examples of the life-changing difference you make for Stollery kids and their families.

A pediatric centre of excellence In October, the Hospital opens its doors after generations of generous citizens pave the way to secure the best children’s health care for our community’s kids. $10M from donors like Bob & Shirley Stollery

First multi-visceral transplant Athabasca’s Kyer Prymak, nine months old, becomes Western Canada’s first person to get a multivisceral transplant – a new liver, small intestine, small bowel and pancreas.

A hub for cardiac care At just three hours old, Winnipeg’s Xander Dolski receives a heart transplant at the stollery – the primary location of all open-heart surgeries in Western Canada.

Improving surgical outcomes The Stollery opens a dedicated pediatric surgical suite and participates in the Canadian Pediatric Surgical Wait Times Project, leading to improved wait times and outcomes for kids needing surgery. $500K from donors

Preventing life-threatening blood clots Development of the KidCLOT program for patients who need blood thinners leads to faster recoveries and fewer issues. Today, KidCLOT sees 120 – 150 kids each week. $90K from donors

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Help for childhood obesity The Pediatric Centre for Weight and Health opens to help a growing number of overweight kids create healthier exercise and dietary habits.

Leading-edge neurosurgical equipment A new MRI scanner lets neurosurgeons check their progress during surgery, increasing their effectiveness in removing tumours and, in some cases, preventing the need for multiple surgeries.

$460K from donors

$1.7M from donors

World-class experts Funding for advanced training programs attracts the world’s brightest medical minds to join the Stollery’s team of 200+ pediatric specialists. $1M from donors every year

STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

Chronic pain relief Pain management for Stollery kids improves with the opening of a Pediatric Chronic Pain Clinic – one of six dedicated clinics in Canada. $140K from donors

Pediatric emergency opens The only dedicated pediatric emergency in central and northern Alberta opens at the Stollery, responding to 35,000 patient visits from kids in need of immediate help each year. $5M from donors

One-stop outpatient clinic opens The Edmonton Oilers Ambulatory Clinic opens, providing access to 40 clinic services under one roof for 153,000 outpatient visits each year. $2.5M from donors

Breakthrough research A stem cell breakthrough

by Team Xplore, a group of dedicated doctors and researchers at the Stollery, brings hope for healing premature babies’ lungs. $240K from donors

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A first in Canada and the world B.C.’s Muskaan Grewal, 5, becomes the first pediatric patient in Canada – and the youngest patient in the world – to have a HeartWare pump implanted to keep her heart pumping until a transplant match is found.

State-of-the-art equipment Pediatric cardiologists see the inner workings of patients’ hearts using echocardiography equipment that captures 3D video in real time.

Family-centred programs Hospital programs such as pet therapy, music therapy and aboriginal child health benefit hundreds of kids mentally and physically each year.

$1M from donors

$500K from donors every year

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Things are looking up for this year’s ­Children’s Miracle ­Network ­Champion Child, Sophia Ricci, and her family

PHOTOS: COOPER & O'HARA

BY Glenn Cook

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STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

feature HERO

STOLLERYKIDS.COM

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N A MUGGY AUGUST AFTERNOON, THE NEIGH-

throughout the Riccis’ home to allow her to move around, b ou rhoo d k id s h ave gat hered i n Steph a n ie and it was a constant struggle to keep the tubes attached to Ricci’s driveway. Crews from Epcor have opened her nose. up a couple of fire hydrants on the street, and that’s Things seemed to be going fine, though, until Sophia was where the water is pooling. As some kids splash around, three years old and she began fainting. She had to be airlifted Stephanie’s daughter, Sophia, rides her scooter around, back to Edmonton in November 2011, where it was decided wearing a pink helmet. She looks just like the other kids, save to add an intravenous drug to her oral therapy. She has been for a bandage on her upper right arm. faint-free ever since.

Stephanie watches Sophia closely, partly out of worry – Sophia was also evaluated and placed on heart and lung that bandage is covering an intravenous port and can’t get transplant lists in February 2012. Today, her status is listed wet – but mostly out of awe. This is a scene that wouldn’t as inactive. “But if we’re ever in crisis or she was starting to have played out even a year ago. decline and that was the option, we’ve already completed the Sophia was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary arterial evaluation,” ­Stephanie explains. “It’s like flipping a switch; ­hypertension (IPAH) in May 2009, when she was just eight we can activate her and she would be able to accept organs.” months old. IPAH causes the arteries that carry blood from “With transplants, it’s a fine line,” she adds. “It’s like the heart to the lungs for oxyyou’re coming up a cliff, and genation to become narrow “Whatever comes today, we deal with you want to be just about over and constricted, resulting in the top, but not completely today. If it’s a good day, we make it higher blood pressure in those on the down side. You have to a great day,” Stephanie Ricci says. areas. This can lead to shortbe sick enough to need it but ness of breath, fatigue, dizzy healthy enough to survive it.” spells, fainting and discoloration of the lips and extremities.

The condition meant that Sophia was extremely fatigued, Now eight years old, Sophia is showing signs of major short of breath and struggling to get out of bed and eat some improvement – including improved stamina and weight days. Being on the transplant list was a positive step and gain – thanks to her care team at the Stollery Children’s Hos- something that’s always in the backs of their minds, but it’s pital. In fact, she’s doing well enough that she was named not something onto which Stephanie and Tony have pinned the Foundation’s Children’s Miracle Network Champion all their hopes.

Child presented by Walmart for 2016-2017, meaning she and “Whatever comes today, we deal with today. If it’s a good her parents will have the chance to attend events around day, we make it a great day,” Stephanie says. “We make sure the Capital Region and raise awareness for the Hospital, the we fit everything we can in that day and do it. If it’s a bad day, Foundation and for IPAH. then we deal with it. If we just sat and worried, the worry “I have to remind myself where we were and where we are would consume us and life would pass us by.” now,” Stephanie says. “That’s always a good reality check, to remember that things are a lot easier for us now than they A MAJOR TURNING POINT FOR SOPHIA CAME IN JULY 2015, when she underwent Potts shunt surgery at the Hospital, were when she first came home.” which connected her pulmonary artery to the descending THE RICCIS – WHO NOW INCLUDE STEPHANIE, HUSBAND aorta to take pressure off the right ventricle of her heart.

Tony, and five children between the ages of 19 months Since then, she has been able to be off her oxygen supply and 16 – were living in Fort McMurray when they first took for longer periods of time and spend more time playing outSophia to see a pediatrician. That doctor referred them to the side with her siblings and friends. “For her, it’s been lifeStollery Children’s Hospital after hearing a heart murmur. changing. She’s never felt this good,” Stephanie says.

But she still has her limitations, and she is starting to recThe Stollery is one of the top three specialized children’s hospitals in Canada – meaning the Stollery has the talent and ognize what she is missing out on. Plus, there’s always the equipment to treat the most complex of the complex cases risk of a crisis.

– and is a hub for pediatric heart surgery in Western Canada, “She desperately wants to dance – that’s all she wants to as well as a national leader in organ transplantation. At the do. She loves to dance,” Stephanie says. “And I would love for Hospital, she was diagnosed with IPAH after a series of tests her to be able to dance, to take a dance class. But I’m unsure that took a couple of weeks to complete. where to go for those kinds of things. She is on oxygen, and “We had never heard of pulmonary hypertension. We there’s no way she could do a performance without excepdidn’t even know what pulmonary hypertension was,” tions. Asking for exceptions seems just as unfair as her not Stephanie says. “We just thought it [would be], ‘OK, we know being able to dance like the other kids.”

Still, Sophia is doing well enough to return to school for what’s going on. Let’s give her some medication and we’ll go Grade 3 in the fall, after being homeschooled for Grade 2 home, and we’ll see you whenever you need to see us.’ ” But treatment was far more complicated than that. Sophia and having a modified schedule in Grade 1. She’ll need an was started on oral medications, and had to have an oxygen aide and may use a mobility scooter to get around easier, but supply almost all the time; extension oxygen tubing runs Stephanie is hopeful. “It’s a work in progress,” she says. “But

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who had pulmonary hypertension. So we felt very isolated, very alone; we were constantly searching to make a connection with somebody who would just ‘get it.’ There’s more resources now, in terms of online support groups and conferences that we’re WHEN SHE WAS EVALUATED FOR A POSSIBLE TRANSPLANT IN fortunate enough to attend. But being able to actually meet and February 2012, the Riccis decided to pack up and move from Fort connect face-to-face with people has provided us with lifelong McMurray to Edmonton so they could be closer to the Stollery friendships that we value immensely.” and the care Sophia needs. “Fort McMurray was great for us, but The Stollery’s pulmonary hypertension clinic saw 181 she needs to be where her team is,” Stephanie says. “Dr. [Ian] pat ients i n 2015-2016 a nd, accord i ng to t he Stol ler y Adatia specializes in pulmonary hypertension; not only does he C h i ld ren’s Ho spit a l ­F ou nd at ion’s 2 014-2 015 a n nu a l specialize, he’s passionate about it. We wanted to be where he is report, the clinic now has five-to 10-year survival rates that and where his care is. … Anyone who has come in contact with are among the best in the world. “This is a huge improveSophia has provided exceptional care.” ment from what it used to be. In the ’80s, the median survival The Hospital is not only takwas eight months,” Dr. Adatia ing care of Sophia, though; it’s says in the report.

“I just hope her life is full and rich supporting the rest of the family In 2015-2016, the funds the with fun,” Stephanie Ricci says. through this situation. With four Stol ler y Ch i ld ren's Hospit a l “I just want her to have a fun life, other children in the house, they Foundation provided to the Hosfilled with love and all the things all need attention from time to pital included $11.1 million for time but understand how much specialized equipment and facilishe wants to do.” care Sophia requires. ties, programs, training and re“Oftentimes we have to set aside the other kids’ needs and search that advances children’s health care for kids like Sophia. wants because Sophia really does need us to do something,” While they may not be in the exact same situation, Sophia and Stephanie says. “But I think my kids will definitely be better hu- her parents will get the chance to connect with other Children’s man beings having had Sophia in their lives. She has definitely Miracle Network Champion Children presented by Walmart at changed them. They’re all very helpful. My eldest son is 16, and conferences in Ottawa and in Orlando, Florida. he helps with changing her IV. The other kids have no trouble “It’s an honour for us because we have so much faith in the helping; if she needs something, they get it. They’re very endear- Stollery,” Stephanie says. “[It’s an honour] to be able to give back ing; it has changed how they look at other people.” in a way and support them, as well as bring awareness to pulmonary hypertension and the work Dr. Adatia and the Stollery WHILE IPAH IS VERY RARE, THROUGH DR. ADATIA AND do, as well as meet other families who may not have pulmonary the Hospital, the Riccis have been able to meet and network hypertension – when you have a child that’s sick, it doesn’t matwith other families who are coping with the disease, which ter what the illness is. Other parents just get it.” is something Stephanie says is important, both for Sophia And Stephanie is hoping that these trips will be something and herself. ­Sophia remembers for a long, long time. “I just hope her life is “I don’t even have the words to describe it,” she says. “When full and rich with fun,” she says. “I just want her to have a fun Sophia was first diagnosed, there was nobody in Fort McMurray life, filled with love and all the things she wants to do.”

she has had more energy as of late. It’s a whole new life for us. … She feels semi-normal, but she’s still so far from normal when it comes to her health.”

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STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

Save the Date The Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation is honoured to have caring people in the community creating events with proceeds supporting the Foundation, benefiting sick and injured children. We hope you will have an opportunity to enjoy or participate in these activities. For more information, and a complete list of upcoming events, visit stollerykids. com/events. For more information on fundraising targets and expenses, please contact the Foundation at 780-433-5437.

FONDUE FOR LITTLE MIRACLES DATE: November 1 - 30, 2016 LOCATION: The Melting Pot, #117, 2920 Calgary Tr. NW The Melting Pot of Edmonton is excited to launch their seventh annual Fondue for Little Miracles campaign. Throughout the month of November, staff will work hard to raise funds for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation through the sale of Fondue for Little Miracles cards to restaurant guests, friends and family. For every $10 donation made, the donor will receive a $20 Fondue for Little Miracles card to be used towards a future purchase at The Melting Pot of Edmonton. Please call 780-465-4347, visit them in store or at meltingpot.com/edmonton for details.

6TH ANNUAL STOLLERY FAMILY DAY CLASSIC DATE: February 17 - 20, 2017 LOCATION: Terwillegar Rec Centre, 2051 Leger Rd. NW The Stollery Family Day Classic is focused on children, families, active living and good health. The hockey tournament promotes awareness and support for the Stollery Children’s Hospital among youth and the community at large.

For more information or to volunteer, sponsor the event or donate items to the silent auction, visit familydayclassic.com.

ART FOR HEART DATE: November 26, 2016 TIME: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

LOCATION: Happy Harbor Comics, 10729 104 Ave. NW Come witness the first-ever comic art battle in Edmonton. The art from the battle, along with donated pieces from artists, will be sold in a silent auction after the drawing session. You can also visit ­ bit.do/artforheartbattle to make a donation online. All proceeds will be donated to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.

For more information, please contact David at d_tuff@live.com or at 780-975-4663.

EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL NEW YEAR’S EVE GALA

15TH ANNUAL HAIR MASSACURE DATE: February 24, 2017 LOCATION: Mayfield Toyota Ice Palace at West Edmonton Mall, 8882 170 St. NW The Hair Massacure kicks off in January with many participants colouring their hair pink. The campaign culminates with a massive head-shaving and hair-donating event held at the West Edmonton Mall Ice Palace on February 24. This event raises funds for Make-A-Wish® Northern Alberta and the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. For information or to register, visit hairmassacure.com.

DATE: December 31, 2016 TIME: 7 p.m. - 3 a.m.

LOCATION: Fantasyland Hotel Join us for a spectacular evening of food, fun and ­entertainment. Net proceeds from the silent auction will be donated to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. Visit edgala.com for more information.

IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING TAX RECEIPTS: To be eligible for 2016 tax receipts all donations must be received by December 31, 2016. Donors wishing to claim their donations for the 2016 tax year must ensure that the funds are received (or postmarked) by December 31. Donations received after this date will be receipted for the 2017 calendar year.

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PHOTO COURTESY CORA CARTER

alumni FILES

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Coming Full Circle Once a patient at the Stollery, Cora Carter now works to help raise money to improve it

BY Anglia Redding

WHEN CORA CARTER SPEAKS ABOUT something she’s passionate about, her hands move in broad strokes to sketch out pictures to accompany her words. Lots of people talk with their hands, but for Cora, it’s remarkable. That’s because there was a time when doctors didn’t think she’d ever regain full motion on her right side.

Cora’s life has come full circle. Once a patient at the Stollery Children’s Hospital when she was 14, the 24-year-old r­ ecently moved from Cold Lake to Edmonton to work as the annual giving co-ordinator for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. Cora helps maintain a strong donor base by interacting with benefactors. “I love doing the monthly donor phone calls because it’s so interesting to hear why people are donating and what their connection to the Stollery is,” she says.

When she was 14 years old, Cora began having seizures. When her parents, Sue and Ray, were unable to wake Cora – a self-admitted early riser – for school one morning, they became concerned and rushed her to the family doctor. He sent the Carter family to the emergency room along with a warning to “pack a bag because it could be a long day,” Cora says. “It turned into a long month!” She stops here to laugh, finding a bright spot in an otherwise trying experience.

She was later referred to the Stollery Children’s Hospital and recalls the first day of being shuffled around: “There were kids everywhere because it was Bring Your Child to Work Day and I was ­constantly being asked if someone could sit in on whatever test because of it.”

Meanwhile, Cora was upset because she was missing the event at her own school.

“I don’t know why I remember that!”

More laughter.

Cora’s diagnosis of frontal lobe meningioma was shocking because this type of tumour isn’t usually found in children. “It STOLLERYKIDS.COM

is easily overstated by most parents that you are in a bit of bubble with the bombardment of information that needs to be processed, so you don’t necessarily have time to feel much of anything other than numbness,” says Sue. Neurosurgeon Dr. Vivek Mehta and the staff stood by Cora and her family. “Dr. Mehta always would talk directly to me, not initially to my parents or over my head,” Cora says. “That was so important to me.” She also recalls being “a vain 14-year-old” – keeping her hair was so crucial to her that Dr. Mehta thoughtfully parted her hair in ponytails and shaved a thin line where the incision was made. “This dedication to details meant the world to me. With my hair still intact from the outside, no one could see that there was anything wrong with me.”

The operation took another turn when Dr. Mehta discovered a blood vessel running through the tumour – something that wasn’t detected during the many tests Cora endured. Sue and Ray had a tough decision to make rather quickly: ­remove the tumour “I love doing the monthly or leave it in Cora’s brain? The tumour was removed and, donor phone calls because despite the fact that Cora ex- it’s so interesting to hear why perienced a stroke during the people are donating and what procedure that could have their connection to the Stollery left the left side of her body is,” says Cora Carter. paralyzed, she astounded her friends, family and doctors alike by waking up already moving her right arm and talking, using the code word “mom” and giving a thumbs-up.

After intensive physiotherapy, she returned to school to complete her main courses and went on to Mount Royal University in Calgary to get a degree in history. “Post-surgery, [Cora] learned rapidly to set goals such as walking unaided, writing, going downhill skiing and waterskiing – accepting each challenge with ­courage while not letting [her situation] beat her down,” Sue says.

“Cora was always a very determined child and never let anything stop her.”

Even today, nothing stops Cora. When her tumour returned in 2013, she put off removal for a year so she could complete university. After another operation and a round of radiation treatments, Cora is happy, healthy and ready to take on life. She also volunteers at Camp Everest, a yearly summer camp for children who have gone through brain or spinal cord procedures. She has been attending the camp for six years as a counsellor.

She hasn’t let her tumour define her – if anything, she’s stronger because of it and the wonderful support she received at the Hospital. Cora laughs once more, her smile as bright as her future.

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PHOTO: EUGENE UHUAD

team WORK

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There When You Need Them Respiratory services team members at the Stollery are always ready to respond to emerging needs throughout the hospital

BY Martin Dover

BREATH OF FRESH AIR: The respiratory services team at the Stollery Children’s Hospital includes (L-R): Candice Keddie (patient care manager), Sarah Bieganek (assistant manager), Dustin Riske (clinical lead, pediatric inpatient units), Mark Rimkus (co-ordinator of respiratory equipment and excellence in practice), Ann Hudson-Mason (clinical lead, Royal Alexandra Hospital neonatal intensive care unit), Amy McKenzie (clinical lead, University of Alberta Hospital neonatal intensive care unit), Katie Arndt (administrative assistant) and Chris Devlin (clinical lead, pediatric intensive care unit).

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M

OST PEOPLE WHO WORK IN A HOSPITAL HAVE THEIR

­transports), an average of 2.4 each day. NICU transports are own space – a clinic, for example, or a specialized generally less than 28 days old.

RTs are also part of the pediatric transport teams that provide unit where patients come to see them. That’s not the case for the respiratory services team. With 138 urgent care service to patients as far away as Winnipeg, northern staff members between two Stollery sites, respiratory servi- British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, as well as providces team members are trained in a variety of areas and have ing ECLS transport when needed. large skill sets to effectively deal with a wide range of complex While RTs are committed to helping patients in tough situapatient care situations. tions, Candice says it’s just as important – if not more so, in the The team at the Stollery Children’s Hospital’s University of case of the Stollery – for them to be able to deal with the families Alberta Hospital site moves throughout the Hospital helping of young patients. “When you’re dealing with babies and pediatpatients with a variety of needs. The neonatal intensive care ric patients, where [the patient] isn’t always able to understand unit (NICU) staff at the Royal Alexandra Hospital Stollery site what you’re saying or what’s happening, it’s very important that work in a dynamic 69-bed unit and also attend high-risk you include the family in all discussions and ensure they feel deliveries. comfortable and understand what you’re doing and what the “[Respiratory services] is not plan is.”

“We’re part of a team; we are specific to a particular service area.

She adds that respiratory We work with all members of the services team members also committed to providing excellence health-care team in a variety of help with training parents in respiratory care in all units and units to focus on best patient care, before a patient goes home departments,” says Candice Keddie. safety and outcomes,” says Canso they are capable and condice Keddie, patient care manager fident with various medfor respiratory services at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. ical situations, including a permanent tracheostomy or a home “We’re part of a team; we are committed to providing excel- ventilator. lence in respiratory care in all units and departments.” Under “The most rewarding part of the job for me is knowing that I the critical care portfolio led by director Bridget Smith, the have contributed to creating an environment where staff are able team has continued to grow and excel as leaders in neonatal to continue to learn, develop and provide excellence in patient and pediatric respiratory care. The span of practice includes care,” Candice says. “Really, without my team, I would have everything from regular assessment and intervention for pa- nothing.” tients on the pediatric inpatient units to operating complex life-support systems in a critical care environment.

“As an RT [respiratory therapist] at the Stollery, there are Respiratory Disease In Canada numerous opportunities for professional growth and de• According to a report from Statistics Canada published in 2014, velopment. The RTs can train to participate on neonatal the number of people in Canada suffering from asthma was transport at both sites, pediatric transport from the University Stollery site and/or the ECLS (extracorporeal life support) 2,448,817. Roughly 57.4 per cent of those – just over 1.4 team at the University site,” Candice says. “A front-line RT million – were females. working in any one of the four ICUs or inpatient units can have their workload change throughout a shift based on pa• According to the same Statistics Canada report, 274,661 tient acuity, specialty team needs, rapid response or code people in Alberta had asthma in 2014, down from 290,351 attendance and caseroom demands. As a result, they must in 2013. Of the 2014 numbers, 55 per cent (151,516) were be calm under stress, adaptable, possess excellent and clear females. communication skills and be collaborative with all patient care team members. Our focus is on the patient and the pa• A different Statistics Canada report from 2014 found that, in tient’s family – meeting their needs in a timely, safe and ap 2013, four per cent of Canadians over the age of 35 were living propriate manner.” with chronic bronchitis, emphysema or chronic obstructive It can be a stressful job, but Candice says the people on the pulmonary disease (COPD). In Alberta, that figure was 4.2 respiratory services team are exemplary people. per cent, which was up from 3.7 per cent in 2012.

“The great thing about RTs is that they are committed to being team players,” she says. “I feel really honoured to be • While Canada has one of the lowest rates of active tuberculosis the leader of such a great team.” cases in the world, the country still sees about 1,600 new She adds that there is very much a community environment cases reported every year, according to Health Canada’s at the Stollery, which is fostered by co-operation between website. Approximately 70 per cent of these cases occur in leaders at the management level and subsequently encourages foreign-born individuals, while 20 per cent occur in First a collaborative and nurturing culture on the front line.

Nations people. Canada experienced a steady decline in At both Stollery sites, there are transport teams, which tuberculosis rates between the 1940s and the 1980s, and include a transport-trained RT and registered nurse to pick the numbers have remained about the same since then. up babies who need care. In 2015-2016, there were 879 transports performed (634 NICU transports and 245 PICU

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BY Glenn Cook

tech FILES

Digging Deep High-speed electric drills are making a world of difference in ear, nose and throat surgeries at the Stollery Children’s Hospital THEY’RE MOMENTS THAT HAVE GONE VIRAL ON THE INTERNET:

STOLLERYKIDS.COM

POWER PLAY: The EG1 High Speed Electric System drill is making life better for both patients and surgeons at the Stollery Children’s Hospital.

PHOTOS: NICKI WOHLAND

children crying tears of joy as their cochlear implants are turned on and they can hear the world around them, their parents’ voices, for the first time. But these special moments wouldn’t be possible without otolaryngology surgeons, like those at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, and the specialized tools they use.

One of those specialized tools is the EG1 High Speed Electric System, a powerful and precise drill used mainly for surgeries to alleviate ear-related problems. The Hospital currently has one such drill at its disposal, but the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation was looking to raise money for another one at its annual Tee Up For Tots Golf Invitational in August at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.

“With some of our patients, we get to follow them for long periods of time. … It’s amazing when you get to see the difference that it makes to their lives,” says Debbie Filipchuk, pediatric otolaryngology team lead at the Hospital.

The EG1, manufactured by DePuy Synthes, promises 30 per cent more power than its predecessor, the eMax, and has an operating speed ranging from 10,000 to 80,000 revolutions per minute.

But, as much as the EG1 benefits patients, it’s also much easier for staff to deal with than the old pneumatic drills. “They’re significantly quieter, which is important to the staff working in the [surgical] theatre and the surgeon doing the surgery,” Debbie says. “If you can imagine, if you’re doing these procedures several times a week, it can actually lead to hearing loss in the surgeon. The technology in the EG1 is significant because we’re able to drill through the bone much more effectively.”

She adds that the EG1 is also much lighter, and overall it’s a far cry from the drill technology that was in use when Debbie first started in the nursing field and the Hospital first started performing cochlear implant surgeries.

“The change in the drills has been quite substantial,” she says. “We started with very loud, pneumatic drills, and now we’ve gone to these very refined electric drills, which are amazing.”

The number of ear surgeries done at the operating room at the Hospital can vary wildly depending on wait lists, but Debbie says, in the past, they have done as many as five cochlear implant surgeries in a week and, between those and tympanomastoidectomies (where abnormal or infected tissue is removed from the bony area behind the ear, called the mastoid), the EG1 drill has been used as many as three times a day. The Hospital has four dedicated pediatric otolaryngology surgeons on staff, and another four are available in Edmonton who split their time between adult and pediatric surgeries.

Those numbers make it clear that another drill is badly needed and, for Debbie, seeing the support the Hospital gets from the Foundation and the community is astounding.

“Especially for my area, we’ve received tremendous support from the Foundation – I can’t even tell you how meaningful it is for us,” she says.

“For the day-to-day care of our patients, it has made a world of difference for us.”

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PHOTO: SHELBY DEEP

one TO WATCH

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Reaching Out Dr. Aisha Bruce looks to bridge the gap with new Canadians who suffer from sickle cell disease

BY Christopher Schieman

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N 2014, DR. AISHA BRUCE AND THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY

ment don’t always seem to translate to Canadian newcomers. team with the pediatric sickle cell program at the Stollery “A lot of these fears have been carried over to Canada, so when Children’s Hospital noticed a spike in their patient base – it families here are given the diagnosis, it’s especially important that had tripled over the previous three years. As more families we remain culturally sensitive,” says Dr. Bruce. “There are numfrom tropical regions relocate to Edmonton, so do the number of erous guidelines and statements that say we should be culturally sickle cell disease cases. sensitive, but there haven’t really been any to outline what cul“We did a retrospective study on our patient base and saw a tural sensitivity looks like pragmatically. We need to understand large increase in numbers through those years,” says Dr. Bruce. it from the newcomers’ perspective.”

“Alberta and Edmonton were booming, and a lot of people had Dr. Bruce’s social science background in psychology and family moved because they had heard Alberta had a great economy. studies made her the perfect doctor to begin a qualitative study Word would get back to their families and friends about the into how immigrant families are adapting to Western medicine well-paying jobs, spurring more people to migrate.” and whether the patients with sickle cell disease are following After a successful seed grant from the Women and Children’s through with their treatment plans. The research was funded from Health Research Institute (WCHRI), Dr. Bruce and her team a $15,000 Clinical Research Seed Grant provided by WCHRI, who have been able to expand their were given a $40-million gift research into sickle cell disease over 10 years from the S ­ tollery “Talking with the patients and their and better help the families afChildren’s Hospital Foundation families is the best way to know if fected by the disease – not just (the largest gift in the University we’re actually improving their quality of Alberta’s history) for clinical with treatments and medicaof life,” says Dr. Aisha Bruce. tion, but also with an improved research studies. understanding of what this disThe pediatric sickle cell ease means to a diverse group of people. ­program was awarded a second grant with funding from the Sickle cell disease (also known as sickle cell anemia) is a blood Foundation through WCHRI, this time for $50,000, to look into condition most commonly found in individuals from regions how the quality of life of adolescents with sickle cell disease chanwhere malaria is common, such as sub-Saharan Africa, regions ges after they receive a bone marrow transplant. of India, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

“We’re gathering multiple perspectives – from the patients Sickle cell disease affects the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin pro- themselves to their families and even their friends – so we can teins in red blood cells and causes the cells to be crescent-shaped, get a true representation of whether bone marrow transplant imwhere a healthy blood cell is disc-shaped. Healthy red blood cells proved the adolescents’ life,” Dr. Bruce says. “Talking with the can flow freely through veins, while the crescent-shaped red blood patients and their families is the best way to know if we’re actualcells easily stick to branching points in veins and block blood flow. ly improving their quality of life.”

People with sickle cell disease experience bouts of pain, anemia, For Dr. Bruce, being supported by a group like WCHRI and bacterial infections and strokes. According to the National Heart, benefiting from funding provided by the Foundation’s generous Lung and Blood Institute, patients in the developed world experi- donors is crucial to the development of much-needed clinical reence a shortened lifespan of between 40 and 60 years. Treatments search. She explains that,due to time constraints and lack of refor sickle cell disease range from folic acid and penicillin to blood sources, it’s difficult for a busy clinician to contribute to research transfusions and bone marrow transplantation. beyond retrospective studies.

Dr. Bruce explains that sickle cell disease is often seen as a death “It’s fundamental to have a group like [WCHRI] because they sentence for people living in regions where it is common. Many provide valuable infrastructure and remove many of the barriers people diagnosed are without treatment, and families who do de- experienced by front-line physicians,” Dr. Bruce says. “It’s hard to cide to go ahead with treatment often suffer a huge financial bu- do research well. It takes a lot of time and expertise. But clinicians rden. The Haematology, Oncology and Transplant Program at the have a lot of great research ideas that arise from caring for patients Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary has become an epicentre and families and we make a really good team [with WCHRI] to help in Canada for bone marrow transplantation that can cure people get this research off the ground and make sure we’re providing the suffering from sickle cell disease. But the benefits of disease treat- best care and treatment options for those who need it most.”

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Donations from Canadian Natural Resources Limited and other corporate sponsors help turn operating room redevelopment plans into reality

BY Glenn Cook

PHOTOS: NICKI WOHLAND

W

STOLLERYKIDS.COM

HEN THE RIBBON WAS CUT TO OFFICIALLY OPEN

the redeveloped operating area at the Stollery ­Children’s Hospital in late August, there were plenty of smiles and sighs of relief.

More than a decade in the making, the $36-million project would not have been possible without the support of the provincial government. However, folks at the Stollery are also tipping their surgical caps to the corporate donors who, through the ­Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Critical for Care campaign, helped turn the operating room blueprints into reality, contributing $7 million to the OR redevelopment and future projects. “[Corporate donations are] the difference between day and night,” says Rita Young, unit manager for the operating room at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. “The generosity of the people who contribute to the Foundation and the generosity of the Foundation toward operative services has been enormous. It makes a very, very big difference for staff and for kids every single day.”

One of the biggest corporate donors to the OR redevelopment project was Canadian Natural Resources Limited, who put forth a donation of $750,000 over a period of five years.

“The Stollery is not just an Edmonton hospital; it serves all of northern Alberta. It’s such an important hospital,” says Lesley Schonhoffer, stakeholder relations administrator for Canadian Natural. “It really aligns with what we want to invest in: medical wellness and benefiting the community we operate in.”

The redeveloped ORs look “really unbelievable, and we’re really proud,” she adds.

Canadian Natural’s relationship with the Stollery goes back to 2005, and Lesley says it’s an important cause for many of the company’s employees.

“We do a lot of fundraising at Canadian Natural, and [employees] have family in those areas, so to know this money is going toward something so great like the Stollery, it’s so important to the communities that we work in,” she says.

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The OR redevelopment at the Stollery includes five new ­ perating rooms and two new procedure rooms, which Rita o describes as smaller ORs. One of those procedure rooms is an endoscopy suite, where a small camera attached to a flexible tube can be used to examine a patient’s digestive tract. The redevelopment also includes a new day ward unit with 23-hour-a-day admission capabilities and a new recovery room.

“For the on-the-ground troops – the nurses, the patients, the physicians and the support staff that look after surgical patients every single day – this is a huge change,” Rita says.

“It was very badly needed,” she adds, “just in terms of updating to more modern standards and providing enough space for people to breathe. Storage was a huge issue, and it’s going to be better. There are so many things that are vastly improved, it’s hard to articulate it.”

Rita also acknowledges the hard work of Heather Burton, the assistant head nurse of neurosurgical services at the Stollery who was seconded into the OR redevelopment project and served as the team lead. “She could not have done a better job,” Rita says. “She stepped up and grew in her clinical expertise, in terms of learning processes for procurement. She liaised with vendors, and her touch is everywhere. She is such an incredible inspiration for everybody around her because she did such a good job.”

With the Stollery being a children’s hospital, Rita says that lots of effort was put into making the revamped surgical ward as kid-friendly as possible, including graphics on the walls and children’s drawings incorporated into light fixtures. “It’s incredible.

It’s as child-friendly as any clinical practice area could possibly be,” Rita says. “Every effort was made to make it welcoming.”

That welcoming atmosphere also extends to families of patients.

“That’s part of everything we do, and that was certainly part of this venture as well,” Rita says.

Hospital staff will continue using old surgical spaces alongside the new ones in order to provide the high standard of care that patients and families have come to expect.

But for now, Stollery staff members are still in awe of their new home.

“For most of us, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime event,” Rita says. “It’s such a rare opportunity to start fresh in a new space.”

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THE STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THESE DONORS FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THE CRITICAL FOR CARE CAMPAIGN Your generosity, combined with funds from the Government of Alberta and Alberta Health Services, helped expand and redevelop the Hospital’s Edmonton Oilers Ambulatory Clinic, as well as operative and critical care spaces, providing excellence in equipment and facilities, training, programs and research that benefits the sickest kids in our community.

Thank you for investing in children’s health so more kids in Western Canada and beyond can live longer, healthier lives.

• ATB Financial • The Battle River Community Initiative • Canadian Natural Resources Limited • The Lakedell 4-H Beef Club • Mike Weir Miracle Golf Drive for Kids • R. And E. Mühlenfeld Foundation • Stollery Women’s Network • Tee Up For Tots Golf Invitational • Larry & Deb Thompson, Thompson Construction Group

STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

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Slo-Pitch_2016.pdf 1 9/27/2016 10:36:33 AM

Thank you!

Your dedication and effort helped us raise more than $130,000* at the 11th Annual Row For Kids, with 75 per cent of net funds for the Stollery

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Thank you for supporting

THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS AND PARTICIPANTS FOR RAISING MORE THAN $30,000* FOR KIDS AT THE STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL! We invest your funds in the best people, programs, pediatric equipment and research to keep the Stollery world-class in delivering acute health care to kids who need it most.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

SVS GROUP LLP CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

* Net revenue

* GROSS REVENUE

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Because of your amazing support, we raised more than $208,000* for the Stollery Children’s Hospital!

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Thanks to your generosity, we will use net proceeds to buy 10 non-invasive breathing machines for babies at the Stollery. This type of respiratory support uses nasal prongs or a mask to help babies breathe, preventing the need for intubation in many cases. These machines will help babies to breastfeed earlier, allow both parents skin-to-skin contact without worrying about dislodging a breathing tube, and reduce the risk of infection and the development of chronic lung disease. Thank you!

Special thanks to our partners:

Thank you for supporting the:

*Gross revenue. For more information on fundraising targets and expenses, please contact the Foundation at 780.433.5437.

WHY I donate

Steady as She Goes

PHOTO COURTESY OF KAREN RUSSELL

Local grandmother has been donating regularly to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation for years – even before her granddaughter needed care

BY Glenn Cook

GRAND-MA: Karen Russell and her granddaughter Olivia all dressed up for the Light the Night walk for leukemia and lymphoma in September 2015.

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STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

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S A TAX ACCOUNTANT AND THE OWNER OF A AND K

had a hump on her back and only allowed her to use one lung.

Tax Tyme in Edmonton, Karen Russell knows how valu- “Because of hospitals like the Stollery and the great research and able making donations can be when filing a return. But doctors we have, conditions like scoliosis can be treated,” Karen for her, the value of her donations to the Stollery Chil- says. She also says she has always wondered how tall her mother dren’s Hospital Foundation goes well beyond the bottom line. would have been if her spine had been straightened as a child.

Karen has been donating $100 a month to the Foundation since Being able to see what donation dollars are being put toward 2007, when she tuned in to the Corus Radiothon, held over two makes giving that much more meaningful for Karen. “[The dodays every January on CISN Country 103.9. This year was the 17th nations] allow for top-notch benefits for patients. That’s amazannual radiothon, and raised more than $1.3 million. ing,” she says, adding that she reads every issue of Heroes when it But Karen’s devotion to the comes out and sometimes tears Foundation’s cause was later “Because of hospitals like the Stollery up at the powerful stories inside. strengthened when her grandKaren says she’s not sure why and the great research and doctors we she chose the $100 figure to give daughter Olivia, who was only have, conditions like scoliosis can be 15 months old at the time, had each month when she startto be admitted to the Stollery ed out, but it hasn’t become a treated,” says Karen Russell.

Children’s Hospital with severe ­financial burden. asthma symptoms and breathing problems.

“I’m going to be retiring in the next three to five years, so then I’ll “I wasn’t there at all with them, but I know my daughter-in- have to reassess. But I will not stop donating, I’m sure,” she says. law was in pieces, just about, and my son was stoic,” says Karen, And she is certain donations like the one she makes every 65, who has four grandchildren in total. “But it all worked out month will help sick kids get the very best care that they need OK, and the care that they got was just amazing.” further down the road.

She was also in awe recently of a new 3D imaging machine put “It’s for a very good cause, and I see the improvements to the into use at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, for which the Foun- Stollery,” she adds. “Edmonton is amazing as far as research dation contributed almost $780,000. The machine reduces the and the qualified doctors. And I think, if it wasn’t changing, if risk of scoliosis patients developing cancer due to exposure to it wasn’t maintaining itself as a hospital, not improving and not radiation from repeated X-rays. Karen’s mother was diagnosed trying to better the facility and the benefits they have there, we with scoliosis in the 1930s and suffered from an extreme curve wouldn’t attract the doctors that we get. … It’s like buying a in her spine all her life that was so pronounced, it appeared she house; you improve upon it and that makes it more attractive.”

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Thank you, Walmart!

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More than $447,000 for the Stollery through in-store fundraising and Miracle Balloon sales during this year’s Miracle Month Annual sponsors of Children’s Miracle Network’s Champion Child program

Since 1998, Walmart’s generous associates and customers have raised millions of dollars to help the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation invest in the best people, programs, equipment and research. Together, we’re giving the sickest kids in Alberta and beyond the best chance to live longer, healthier lives.

PHOTO COURTESY STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

youth PHILANTHROPY

POSTER CHILD: Draxton Homan has done as much to raise awareness of the Stollery Children’s Hospital and its programs as he has to raise money.

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STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

Giving Back Draxton Homan draws on his own experience with the Stollery to raise money and awareness

BY Glenn Cook

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EARING ABOUT THE STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

and all the great work it does is one thing; hearing about it from someone who has been in the Hospital is quite another. That’s why Draxton Homan’s efforts to raise money and awareness for the Stollery are so powerful.

Draxton was born without a valve leading into his stomach; anything he ate would come right back up. After undergoing surgery at just nine months old, he was in and out of the Stollery for a number of years. One day, when camping with his father, he complained that he wasn’t feeling well and vomited, something he wasn’t supposed to be able to do following his surgeries. He was taken to the Stollery, where doctors discovered his stomach had perforated. He was put into a coma for two weeks and had 80 per cent of his stomach removed.

Now 14 years old, Draxton is doing well and giving back in a big way. He’s involved in many fundraisers for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, including the Stollery Family Day Classic and the Hair Massacure – the latter of which he has raised $15,000 in pledges for alongside his minor hockey team.

“A lot of times, that awareness comes through the raising of money because he gets to tell his story,” Kristy says.

Raising awareness of what the Hospital does is just as important as raising money, Nicki says. “There is no dollar amount to express his value when he shares his story because it’s so big. To see success like Draxton’s, and to see him giving back by sharing his story, that motivates people.”

While Draxton still sometimes has issues with his stomach and can’t be as active as he might like, Kristy says he’ll continue passionately championing the Stollery, and the rest of the family – including brothers Jakob, 9, and Devlin, 10 – will be right there with him.

“Our whole family is behind it. My other two kids are like, ‘I can’t wait for the Hair Massacure!’” she says. “We all volunteer with the Stollery. It’s the way of our family now.”

“To see somebody give back when they’ve needed help is huge,” says Nicki Wohland, “and to see it from a kid is even bigger.”

“It makes you so proud because you see where he was, where he came from, and where he is now – it’s such an amazing feat,” says Draxton’s mother, Kristy Wells. “Kids are so resilient. If that had happened to one of us, we never would come back the same way.”

Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation communications co-ordinator Nicki Wohland says Draxton is “an awesome kid” and couldn’t be prouder to work with him.

“To see somebody give back when they’ve needed help is huge,” she says, “and to see it from a kid is even bigger. What he’s learning to do is going to be instilled throughout the rest of his life.”

While Draxton has raised a lot of money for the Foundation to invest in the best people, programs, equipment and research for the Hospital, he’s also raising awareness. He has shared his story on the Corus Radiothon, telling listeners about his time in the Hospital. He also appeared on posters for ATB Financial’s Teddy for a Toonie campaign, and has made appearances on local television shows to talk about the Hospital and its staff and all they’ve done for him.

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corporate HERO

Nourishing the Community Safeway employees give back in a big way to charities like the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation

BY Glenn Cook

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HE EMPLOYEES AT YOUR LOCAL SAFEWAY STORE ARE

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SAFEWAY

definitely helpful – carrying groceries to your car, slicing meat at the deli or helping you find that last item on your list. But, for the last 15 years, they’ve also been helping out the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, albeit in a less conspicuous way.

Since 2001, Safeway employees have raised a total of $745,388 for the Foundation. Between 2001 and 2007, money was raised through the Because We Care campaign, which included various store initiatives like bake sales and other fundraisers. Since 2008, however, employees have had the option of having a small amount of their choosing taken directly off their paycheques each pay period to go to the Foundation. That alone has raised more than $450,000 of that total.

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STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

“It’s a program that we as a company are very proud of. It’s from customers, makes the relationship extra special, Lori adds. important for us to provide our employees with convenient “Knowing that they’re also opening their own pockets and ­giving ways to give back to the community, and it’s truly amazing to from their paycheques every two weeks is a great example of witness their generosity,” says Madison Pinder, community in- how they believe in giving back to the community as a whole. vestment co-ordinator for Sobeys Inc., which owns Safeway, in ­Together, the customers and the employees can make that much Western Canada. more of a difference in the community.”

“I know the Stollery is very close to the hearts of many of our The employee giving program at Safeway includes both coremployees because many of them have had personal ties to the porate and store employees. Madison says the amount donated organization – they’ve been to the Foundation and to other helped by the Hospital or they charities has steadily increased “It’s important for us to provide our know someone who has reover the years. employees with convenient ways ceived care in the facility. It’s “It’s very aligned with our such an important part of the company’s mission, and it’s to give back to the community, and Alberta community.” deeply rooted in our company’s it’s truly amazing to witness their Lori Finck, senior develophistory of giving,” she says. “It’s generosity,” says Madison Pinder. ment officer for the Foundation, very inspiring to see the dollars says the relationship with SafeSafeway employees collectively way goes far beyond the employee giving program, but it’s still raise year after year through this payroll program. It shows that very rewarding to see their employees step up to the plate. our employees deeply care about the communities we serve and “It’s very rewarding to see,” she says. “With all of the Safeways that helping out our neighbours is important to them.” in our province – just about everyone has one in their neighborThe money raised for the Foundation is targeted for pediathood – these employees have the option of directing their dona- ric weight management and nutrition services at the Stollery tions to different charities and the fact that so many chose the Children’s Hospital, which matches up nicely with Safeway’s Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation demonstrates the impact focus on health. “Our mission is to help Canadians eat better, the Hospital has on Albertans.” feel better and do better, so this program is really well-aligned The fact that the employees are giving from their own pay- to put healthy food choices at the top of the mind for families cheques, separate from any donations that might be solicited and children,” Madison says.

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THE SPENCER BEREZOWSKI MEMORIAL GOLF TOURNAMENT Presented by:

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Proceeds from this year’s tournament go to our general impact fund, giving our Foundation the flexibility to meet the Hospital’s most urgent needs such as equipment for the operating room expansion and redevelopment.

Thank you to this year’s sponsors and guests who raised close to $68,000* B. Wright Drywall • CFI Custom Flooring • Edmonton Motors • Habberjam Mechanical • IKO Industries • Knights Roofing • Landmark Group • Malarkey Roofing Products • Milestones Restaurants • Premier Fire and Flood • Prime Fasteners • River Ridge Golf & Country Club • Roofmart *Net revenue

Thank you, TD for raising vital funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals across Canada – including the Stollery Children’s Hospital.

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Your generosity funds the best people, programs, equipment and research to make sure the Stollery can provide world-class care for the sickest kids in Western Canada.

#MakeTodayMatter

BY Glenn Cook

volunteer HERO

Mind, Body and Soul New board chair Richard Kirby’s involvement with the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation helps him achieve a great balance in life

new chair of the board of trustees for the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation, the excitement has yet to wear off for Richard Kirby.

Richard was elected chair in June 2016 and he is very much looking forward to what’s to come, including consolidating space at the Hospital and promoting its brand outside the Edmonton market.

“I really couldn’t be more thrilled,” says Richard. “There’s such a great history with the Stollery and it’s such a talented board, so to get to work with the board and learn from them and move along some of our strategic initiatives is a real honour.

I couldn’t be more excited.”

Richard has been on the Foundation’s board since fall 2013 after learning about it from one of his colleagues, T. Marshall Sadd, who served as chair from 2014 to 2016.

“I’ve always held the Stollery board in high regard; I’ve always been impressed with the organization and what they’ve been able to achieve from fundraising and perspectives, and of course how they consistently help to raise the bar on faciliCARING CHAIR: Richard Kirby with his wife Erin, tating excellence in delivery of children’s daughter Elliette (7) and son Foster (4). health care,” he says.

Since joining, Richard says the work he has done has been immensely reward“The work we do at Felesky Flynn is very creative but it’s also extremely intellectually ing. “It’s really hard to put into words,” he says. “I actually underestimated the challenging. There’s constant learning. So I think that sort of takes care of the ‘mind leg’ impact the Stollery has in northern Al- of the tripod. Then the Citadel gives me the ‘soul leg’; the arts community is really imberta. Just to have been able to work with portant food for the soul. Then the ‘body leg’ is the health-related charities and causes; the Stollery is the third leg of that tripod for me.” the board and the While chairing the board is a good experience for him, whole Stollery “There’s such a great history Richard says there are many other ways for people to get management team – I’m in awe.” with the Stollery and it’s such a involved with the Foundation if they so desire.

“I would really encourage people to get involved with A tax and estate talented board,” says Richard. so many of the great events that happen throughout the lawyer by day with year,” he says. “It could be as simple as buying Blizzards Felesky Flynn LLP, where he’s the managing part- on Dairy Queen’s Miracle Treat Day or getting on a committee for the Snowflake Gala or ner, Richard also sits on the board shaving your head as part of the Hair Massacure. Join the Stollery Women’s Network! of the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton. Take every opportunity you can to learn with the organization, meet the staff and get All those pursuits come together to create your kids involved. There are so many ways to give and, the more you give, the more you get out of it.” a nice balance in his life.

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STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

PHOTO COURTESY OF RICHARD KIRBY

A FEW MONTHS INTO HIS TERM AS THE

BY Glenn Cook

HOSPITAL portrait

Another Chance Don Granoski and the ECLS team at the Stollery give sick kids a chance to take that next step

WHILE THE DOCTORS AND NURSES AT THE STOLLERY

PHOTO: NICKI WOHLAND

Children’s Hospital do their best to help sick kids recover from illness or injury, sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. That’s where Don Granoski and his team come in.

Don is the Hospital’s extracorporeal life support (ECLS) coordinator, heading up a team of more than 50 nurses and respiratory therapists who provide bedside expertise to patients who have suffered severe respiratory or cardiac failure and require ECLS. One type of ECLS often used is called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), where a patient’s blood is circulated outside of the body, pumped through an artificial lung to pick up oxygen, and then returned to the patient’s bloodstream.

“It doesn’t cure anything; it just gives us more time,” Don says, noting that his patients can range in age anywhere from newborns to 17 years old. “In the case of the heart, it can give a weakened or damaged heart time to recover, or it can give us time to make a decision as to what the next steps are.”

That said, though, the ECLS team at the Hospital has seen good success with patients, and it’s really rewarding to see them back on their feet. “If they’ve successfully weaned off ECLS, gotten out of the ICU and been discharged home, a lot of times they’ll come back, the patients and the families, to see us in the ICU. It’s really incredible and rewarding to see them up, walking around, and going back to school, just being normal little kids,” Don says.

“It’s really incredible and rewarding to see them up, walking around, and going back to school, just being normal little kids,” says Don Granoski.

Don always wanted to be in a health care-related field growing up, thanks in no small part to the fact that his mother was a nurse. After training as a respiratory therapist, he started in the ECLS field with the ECMO program at the Stollery NICU located at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. He then moved to the Stollery Children’s Hospital located at the Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre. “When I learned about ECMO, I thought it was an important and amazing technology that could be used to give patients another chance.”

As much as ECLS staff like Don help patients recover, they also have to help the patients’ families deal with the situation their child is going through.

“It’s a very scary, overwhelming experience for the families, to see their child attached to a big machine with blood ­circulating STOLLERYKIDS.COM

outside their body,” he says. “They know their child is very sick.

It’s very important for the team, and they do an incredible job of supporting the families. Patients can be on these supports for a long time – days, weeks, even months in some cases – so the team really gets to know the families and the patients. They form relationships.”

The ECLS team currently helps more than 50 patients a year, about three-quarters of which are cardiac patients. The ­Hospital’s ECLS retrieval service goes out to hospitals across Western Canada and brings patients on ECMO back to the ­Hospital for treatment.

“The success of the program is really because of the team,” Don says. “We have an amazing group of ECLS specialists, bedside care team members, physicians and surgeons, whose dedication gives our patients a second chance.”

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THE LAST word

Turning Lemons into Lemonade “Kids Helping Kids” is the motto behind youngsters’ lemonade stand in support of the Stollery

BY Taylor Woodworth

SUPPORTING THE STOLLERY CHILDREN’S Hospital means so much to me and my sister, Sydney, and the experiences we get to encounter makes every second enjoyable.

We chose to create our fundraiser seven years ago when Moses Felix, a little boy we knew, passed away from leukemia in the Stollery. We then started to learn more about what the Stollery does for kids and we wanted to know how to help! That is when Sydney and I came up with the idea of s­ tarting our lemonade stand in memory of Moses Felix. All of the donations made would go to the Stollery ­Children’s Hospital Foundation to help the Hospital have what it needs to care for sick and injured kids.

In the first year, we made $250; the second year, we made $500; the third year, we made $1,000; and in the fourth year, we made $4,000. The number just kept on rising up until our seventh year, when

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we raised more than $18,000 over the summer!

I remember my dad telling me after our second year: “You may have only sold to 100 people, but you have touched many more hearts.” Today, so many people know about our stand and they know our story. We have to thank our supporters for that. If it wasn’t for the people who show up and actually contribute their time, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

Our motto is “Kids Helping Kids,” and when you come to our stand, that is exactly what you see! Kids behind the register, kids making the snow cones, making the lemonade and the cotton candy and so much more! It sends such a big message when you see little kids doing incredible things for the world.

For the first five years of our fundraiser, it was located at our house. But as we have grown, it has been located at Sobeys in Namao Centre for the past two years. Sobeys is one of the many supporters that make our success possible.

At our lemonade stand, people are always happy because they know their efforts are going towards a good cause, and being around friends and kids who welcome you makes it that much more enjoyable.

Fundraising is an experience people cherish forever – I know we all will. The Stollery does amazing things for people and we want to be part of it and help people out. Over the years, we have gone from being inspired by one family to being inspired by multiple families. Everyone at the L ­ emonade Stand in Memory of Moses Felix hopes that kids will help kids and our beliefs will be still carrying on 20 years from now.

Our event happens every summer, so kids, instead of staying home and playing video games, do something good for the community! Come to our lemonade stand or any Stollery event happening near you and get involved and learn about the magic that happens at the Stollery ­Children’s Hospital.

STOLLERY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

Our valued sponsors: Presented by

! u o y k n Tha

EDMONTON KENWORTH LTD.

Norma M. Gordon Investments

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raised

Thank you to our 17th Annual Tee Up For Tots Golf Invitational supporters who raised more than $922,700* to help expand vital operative services and intensive care units at the Stollery. *Gross revenue. For more information on fundraising targets and expenses, please contact the Foundation at 780.433.5437.

True North

Holdings Inc.

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