-
Raised $0$3000 goal
-
0km run100km goal
This May, I'm going the distance for the health of every kid in Canada, as well as my own!
Our sweet Dex had a shaky first year earthside. He wasn't breathing at birth and suffered from hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, requiring him to be kept in cooling therapy for the first 72 hours of his life. We were told he would need to be closely followed for neurological damage until age 5.
At 5 months old, we learned he was demonstrating signs of SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency) and could need a bone marrow transplant. Any plans for daycare or school could be too dangerous, and Dex may have needed to be permanently isolated. Live vaccines were also off the table as the risk that injecting him with a live vaccine would destroy his immune system was just too high.
Dex recently turned 3, and birthdays tend to bring exciting milestones for him. At his first annual check-in with neonatology, he was cleared of ANY developmental delays and was discharged from the follow-up program. His immunologists also cleared him for a small daycare. By his second birthday, they cleared him for preschool. And now, just days after his third birthday, Dex has been given clearance to get live vaccines.
This is one milestone we weren't sure we would ever meet. We are so proud of our resilient little fighter who exceeds all our expectations constantly. And we are thankful - so thankful. Dex gets to lead the life every toddler should get to; having fun and learning with friends, going to birthday parties, and taking swimming lessons. There will always be extra doctor appointments in his future, extra precautions taken around him, and certainly more anxiety for us. But with each passing year, he gets stronger and stronger. We couldn't ask for more.
How have we gotten here? With the guidance of the most dedicated doctors at SickKids and the Stollery, who have been supporting him and rooting for him since birth. We simply could not keep Dex as safe and as healthy without them, and we participate in this run every year to give back however we can.
Please donate now and support me in my challenge!
I'm running for SickKids
I'm
This May, I'm going the distance for the health of every kid in Canada, as well as my own!
Our sweet Dex had a shaky first year earthside. He wasn't breathing at birth and suffered from hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, requiring him to be kept in cooling therapy for the first 72 hours of his life. We were told he would need to be closely followed for neurological damage until age 5.
At 5 months old, we learned he was demonstrating signs of SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency) and could need a bone marrow transplant. Any plans for daycare or school could be too dangerous, and Dex may have needed to be permanently isolated. Live vaccines were also off the table as the risk that injecting him with a live vaccine would destroy his immune system was just too high.
Dex recently turned 3, and birthdays tend to bring exciting milestones for him. At his first annual check-in with neonatology, he was cleared of ANY developmental delays and was discharged from the follow-up program. His immunologists also cleared him for a small daycare. By his second birthday, they cleared him for preschool. And now, just days after his third birthday, Dex has been given clearance to get live vaccines.
This is one milestone we weren't sure we would ever meet. We are so proud of our resilient little fighter who exceeds all our expectations constantly. And we are thankful - so thankful. Dex gets to lead the life every toddler should get to; having fun and learning with friends, going to birthday parties, and taking swimming lessons. There will always be extra doctor appointments in his future, extra precautions taken around him, and certainly more anxiety for us. But with each passing year, he gets stronger and stronger. We couldn't ask for more.
How have we gotten here? With the guidance of the most dedicated doctors at SickKids and the Stollery, who have been supporting him and rooting for him since birth. We simply could not keep Dex as safe and as healthy without them, and we participate in this run every year to give back however we can.
Please donate now and support me in my challenge!
