Half of Charlotte and Corey’s hearts stayed at Children’s Hospital the day their baby girl was discharged from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Both Katharina and her twin brother Calvin were born at 26 weeks, weighing less than two pounds. 
While Katharina was in the NICU for 3 months, Calvin needed a little extra help along the way. Over 10 months he persevered through hernia surgeries, intubation, and other critical complications.
Medically complex children like Calvin often spend their first year in hospital. At Children’s Hospital, life-saving equipment like ventilators help these fragile little ones breathe, while innovative programs like Help Me Thrive ensure that kids like Calvin meet their development, growth and well-being goals. A special part of Children’s programming is that our kids’ families – parents and siblings – are encouraged to be involved in their leading-edge care.
From siblings like Katharina learning about Calvin’s needs through specialized and structured play time together in the hospital to his parents accessing peer to peer support through the Paediatric Family Resource Centre, Children’s Hospital ensures the whole family is cared for.
“Our babies faced many complications and required intensive care. We prayed to God every day – every hour at times – not only for our babies’ lives, but for the nurses and doctors and surgeons who were caring for their every need.
Not only did we have the expertise and compassion of the medical staff, who taught us how to change and care for Calvin’s trach, run his feeding tube, give medications and respond in medical emergencies, but our babies also benefited so much from the specialized equipment at Children’s,” shares Calvin and Katharina’s Mom, Charlotte.
At Children’s Hospital, Calvin, Katharina are not just patients, but are also part of a whole community that works with their family to provide the best possible care.
Supporters like LCBO help make Children’s compassionate community possible.
LCBO’s Annual Holiday campaign helps give the gift of life-saving equipment, life-enriching programs and ground-breaking research, which make a difference for our kids and families facing critical illness. 
For over two decades, donations at LCBO’s tills have raised a lifetime total of $5.2 million. This year’s Give a Gift That Makes a Difference, ensures that kids like Calvin and Katharina have all their healthcare needs met in hospital, while their parents learn how to confidently provide care at home.
When you join LCBO in supporting Children’s Hospital, you help make sure children, youth and their families have access to life-saving care and life-enriching programs. You can help create more life-saving moments and more quality of life.
