Nathan and Sylvia welcomed a baby girl into the world on November 7th, 2017 and were challenged with many medical complications. Through it all, they never gave up on their daughter, Rebekah. Nathan recounts their journey: During the darkest days of Rebekah’s hospitalization, my mind alternated from blank to overdrive. Not much was intentional; distractionRead more
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Kelly McQuillan, step-mother to Jeremy Hovington, shares the journey her family faced when they learned Jeremy would require a life-saving kidney transplant in 2018. In the fall of 2016, Jeremy Hovington was a healthy, typical 15-year-old who loved basketball, video games, and spending time with his friends. Like most teenagers, he inhaled junk food andRead more
Isla Marshall was born in the afternoon on November 10, 2015 a healthy seven pounds measuring 21 inches. Evan and Katie Marshall were so proud and in love with their new baby girl. Even though Isla appeared healthy, she had trouble gaining weight. The doctor did express some concern after two weeks of no improvement.Read more
In 2010, Tanis Burghardt and Chris Wallace were preparing for the arrival of their second child. As Tanis neared her due date, the couple attended a regularly-scheduled stress test at Victoria General Hospital. The unexpected results of the ultrasound caused immediate concern for the technician, and the obstetrician was called in to speak with theRead more
In April, two months after Erin was born, her paediatrician advised her parents, Danesh and Audrey, that she should have testing done to see why she was experiencing prolonged jaundice after birth. When doctors examined Erin they diagnosed her with a rare liver condition called biliary atresia, which means that a baby’s bile duct thatRead more
Khai’s Transplant JourneyIn August 2017, Julia Macleod was 15 weeks pregnant with her son, Khai, when she went in for a prenatal ultrasound. At that ultrasound, the medical team told Julia that her baby had gastroschisis, a condition in which the organs are found outside the body, exiting through a hole beside the belly button.Read more
Nate has struggled with intestinal failure since he was born. After numerous attempts to be free from TPN (IV nutrition), it failed. He was required to travel to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, ON from his home in Maymont, SK to be assessed for a transplant in November and was subsequently listed for transplant onRead more
Logan Vandermeulen received his life-saving heart transplant at BC Children’s Hospital at the young age of 10 months old. Logan was the very first infant in British Columbia to be placed on a Berlin Heart while he waited for a heart transplant. Logan was diagnosed in utero with a life-threatening heart blockage and his familyRead more
At five weeks of age, little Ryker’s kidneys failed, and he was put on perineal dialysis a short week later. Ryker spent the first years of his life hooked up to the machine 12 hours a day. Ryker was unable to develop like a normal toddler, and his family’s daily life revolved around his medicalRead more
Aidyn was diagnosed with enlarged kidneys at 26 weeks in utero and was rushed into surgery after being induced at 36 weeks. At four months old, Aidyn was put on peritoneal dialysis for 12 hours every night before upgrading to hemodialysis treatment to remove the toxins and waste his kidneys could not. After approximately 350Read more
