Four-year-old Desmond Chaput wants to be a superhero when he grows up, one with super speed.
What you don’t know is that maybe it already is. His power? Help other children who, like him, have spent a lot of time in SickKids in Toronto, Ontario.
His mother, Heather, remembers when Desmond was born.
“He was born in February 2017 and he was born with heart disease,” Chaput said. “The nurse noticed that he was distressed when [Peterborough Regional Health Centre] And they walked into the room and said we were on the phone with SickKids. We have to go. There is something wrong with his heart. “
He said Desmond had to be transported to Toronto.
Read more:
‘Be a Light’: SickKids Launches New Campaign Amid Effort To Raise Fund For New Next-Gen Facilities
“From there, it just kind of made a spiral. He was transported by ORNGE helicopter and there was no room for either my husband or me, so I have this distinctive memory of being in the DVP and their helicopter flying over the top of us. It was surreal. “
Desmond would undergo a procedure that day and then, at just eight weeks old, undergo the first of three open heart surgeries.
“You think you see this happening to people all the time, and you think ‘how do they do that? I couldn’t do that. ‘ And then it happens to you, and you just do it, ”he said.
“You survive and put one foot in front of the other. And you have a hospital like SickKids, and you’re in the worst days of your life, and you breathe a sigh of relief when you walk in. You just know that he is where he needs to be. “
Read more:
SickKids Receives $ 50 Million Donation for Brain and Mental Health Initiatives
Now, Chaput said, they are sharing their story in hopes of helping others who are going through something similar.
“Because of everything we’ve been through, you can start to feel like ‘Why did this happen to us? Why did this happen to him? For me, he has always given a purpose to our journey, our struggle and our trials to help someone else who might be in the same situation, “he said.
“And just so the community knows that this hospital is so close and see what they are doing. So if you are looking for a place to donate this holiday season, this is a really meaningful way to donate that significantly impacts the little ones in your community. “
Now, even Desmond said he looks forward to some of his hospital visits.
“Sometimes we go to the hotel,” he said. “Sometimes we bring games and we can play the games.”
Read more:
Donating gifts to Children’s Hospital is a different process this year, says foundation
And Desmond is not alone. Approximately 100,000 children are treated at the Hospital for Sick Children each year, approximately 1,400 are from the Peterborough area.
Heather Clark, senior vice president of mass, direct and digital marketing at the SickKids Foundation, He said the organization is in the midst of the nation’s largest six-year, $ 1.5 billion health care campaign. Now, it’s on another impulse, called Campaign ‘Be a Light’.
“More than a state-of-the-art hospital and a state-of-the-art patient support building, we are truly building a better future for thousands of children,” Clark said.
“We have the best doctors, the best team at SickKids, but we are working in a 70-year-old building,” he said. “So I get excited when we talk about things like cutting edge technology, controlling infections in the best possible way, and creating happier, more healing spaces.”
Read more:
History of the Hospital for Sick Children
He added that for each monthly donor who joins the fight before December 31, 2021, the donation will be tripled by a generous donor.
As for Desmond, he will have more surgeries as he ages. While he still wants super speed, his mom said she’s thankful that for now they can slow down and enjoy the little moments, with a simple Christmas wish this holiday season.
“To be happy and healthy and just visit the hospital for day trips,” Chaput said.
For more information or to donate, visit bealight.ca.
Reference-globalnews.ca