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Raised $4378.43$1500 goal
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40.56km run55km goal
This May, I'm taking on a 31 day running challenge in support of my local children's hospital!
Every day, over 5,000 children receive care at a children’s hospital in Canada and by supporting me, you’ll be helping fund life-saving research at your own local children’s hospital. Funds for research are needed now more than ever, and your support will allow researchers to uncover new cures and gentler treatments for kids.
Show your support by donating now!
I'm running for IWK
I'm
This May, I'm taking on a 31 day running challenge in support of my local children's hospital!
Every day, over 5,000 children receive care at a children’s hospital in Canada and by supporting me, you’ll be helping fund life-saving research at your own local children’s hospital. Funds for research are needed now more than ever, and your support will allow researchers to uncover new cures and gentler treatments for kids.
Show your support by donating now!
Achievements
My Fundraising Badges
Updates
Family Centered Care
Sunday 31st May
Last run done, and as May comes to a close, I am once again floored by everyone's generosity.
For another year, I didn't reach my stretch running goal. May always seems to find a way to throw a wrench into things, and this year it came in the form of two parents with strep throat and a cold for Katherine. I may need to start setting more realistic kilometre goals. 🥵
For those familiar with the IWK, you'll know about family-centered care. Parents are active members of their child's care team, and for the past 16 years, we've known nothing else. Katherine has received exceptional care from a team that has consistently valued both my and Pete's knowledge, experience, and input as her parents.
That brings me to our experience this week at the pediatric dentist with Jack. Thankfully, Jack had a positive experience, but the treatment Pete and I received from the dentist was unprofessional and deeply disappointing. Despite informing us she had trained at the IWK, the dentist seemed to have forgotten the patient and family-centered care principles that make the IWK so exceptional. The whole situation was pretty mind-boggling.
As difficult as that experience was, it reminded me exactly why I participate every May in the Million Reasons Run. For 16 years, the IWK has shown our family what compassionate, family-centered care looks like. We've never been made to feel like bystanders in Katherine's care; we've always been treated as partners.
Your donations help ensure other families can experience that same level of respect, support, and exceptional care. Every kilometre I ran and every dollar raised is my small way of giving back to a place that has given so much to us. For that, I will always be grateful.
ShareIt's Double Your Donation Day!
Thursday 14th May
Thank you to everyone who has donated so far. Your generosity means more to us than words can express.
On Mother’s Day, we celebrated Katherine’s 16th birthday. I truly couldn’t imagine a better gift than to share the day with her. If you've been around since the early years of K’s life, you likely understand what a miracle this milestone really is. It’s not something we speak about publicly very often, but the amount of time we would have with her was has always been uncertain.
Over the years, we’ve thankfully found a degree of stability, but as her mother, I don’t forget the earlier days, living with the constant fear that something significant could happen the moment you stepped away. When Katherine first came home after her tracheostomy in 2014, I vividly remember standing in the vitamin aisle at Walmart debating whether to buy the 365-count bottle of folic acid, wondering quietly to myself if I would need them all.
Birthdays also bring reflection. We think about Katherine’s friends whose lives ended far too soon, and about their families who became part of a club no one ever wants to join, one we know we will likely someday join too. Those children and families are never far from our hearts.
The reality is we did not get here alone. We are here because of our village, and because of the exceptional care Katherine has received through the IWK.
Before we know it (though we plan to delay it as much as possible) we will have to leave the safety and familiarity of the children’s hospital and transition into the adult medical system. It’s something many families of medically complex children quietly fear for years. For a long time, I tucked it away into the “possible problem for another day” folder. What a gift it will be to finally have to open that folder. I will be grateful for it, and I will grieve the process at the same time. This journey has taught me well how both feelings can exist together.
Running this year started off strong before an unexpected bout of strep throat forced an abrupt pause. May always seems to throw a wrench into momentum, but we carry on. This Saturday, Jack and I will be running the Doctors Nova Scotia Kids 2K around Citadel Hill.
Once again, thank you all for the incredible support, encouragement, and generosity. We are so grateful.
Year 5 Starts Tomorrow!
Thursday 30th Apr
