Thank You, Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks announced this morning that, through their Canucks For Kids Fund, they donated $5 million to BC Children’s Hospital.

As a parent who has spent many hours and many days at Children’s Hospital, all I can say to the Vancouver Canucks is, "Thank you!".
A week before my eldest daughter turned 5, she was diagnosed with Wilm’s Tumour, a form of kidney cancer. It was, without a doubt, the worst day of my life. We were immediately sent to Children’s Hospital for care and treatment. She had emergency surgery to remove her kidney, which had been basically consumed by the tumour. After recovering from surgery, she went through several months of radiation and chemotherapy treatment. In August of that year, her oncologists told us that the treatments has worked and they had eliminated her cancer.

That was the best day of my life. And if you want to read about the whole experience, read my wife’s blog. She’s done a far better job than I could  everdo of explaining it.

Since then, we have continued to go back to BCCH every few months for check-ups and follow-ups. And every visit is a special one.

The people on the staff at Children’s Hospital are nothing short of angels. They smile every time they see my daughter, ask her about everything that’s happened since her last visit and treat her like a princess whenever she is there. The medical staff are flat-out brilliant. They understand the patience required to handle frightened kids, and panicking parents. Whenever we needed further explanation, they took the time to talk to us again. And again. And again. Because of that, Drs. Mason Bond and Rebecca Deyell are probably my favourite people there. Oh and they’re also the two people who told us that they had cleared our daughter’s cancer. So they get bonus points for that, too.

We go back every six months now for check-ups and we will do so until she’s an adult. And she’ll keep going for follow-ups on her own.

But without donations to the hospital, my daughter’s story would have never happened. The care and dedication provided by the amazing staff at BC Children’s Hospital is the best I have ever encountered anywhere. And they need funding to keep that level of care as such a high level. The equipment, the medications, the food, the upgrades to the building… It also requires money to help improve the health of our children. And the hugely generous donation from the Vancouver Canucks makes a story like ours possible, and for years into the future. This donation means that children will have the best care possible for years and years. What a gift.

Our story is but a dot on one page of an almost endless book of stories that end happily. And we are forever grateful for that.

Thank you, BC Children’s Hospital for saving our daughter’s life. And thank you Vancouver Canucks for helping to save the lives of children in this province for many years to come.