Evie was only three years old when she and her family learned she was a Type 1 Diabetic. Her early diagnosis was possible thanks to her family’s enrollment in a Children’s Hospital study monitoring children at high risk for diabetes.
From the moment of her diagnosis onward, her family needed specialized care to make sure that little Evie could understand what an insulin pump was, what her needles were for, and what her life would look like with diabetes.
Trying to explain painful procedures and medical needs to a three-year-old is not easy.
Child Life Specialist Erika took a huge weight off for Evie and her family.
Children’s Hospital’s Child Life Team is the reason Evie and her parents could gain confidence with Evie’s medical needs and learn how to best manage her diabetes together.
From needles and bloodwork to insulin pumps and MRI machines, Erika has helped Evie and her parents learn how to cope with all aspects of her treatment and continued to find ways to make things less scary and more playful for Evie.
Today, thanks to the support of donor-funded programs like Child Life, Evie is becoming more independent in her diabetes management. She is learning how to test her own sugars and prepare for her long days of cheerleading! A talented and active athlete, Evie knows how she can make it through an entire tumbling routine thanks to what she’s learned with Erika at Children’s Hospital.
When you support Dream Lottery this fall, patients who receive care at Children’s Hospital, like Evie, and those at St. Joseph’s Health Care London and London Health Sciences Centre, will benefit from enhanced patient care, innovative equipment, education and research. Collectively, these hospitals receive more than 1.9 million patient visits each year and serve as referral centres for patients and their families from across Southwestern Ontario and beyond.
Since 1996, Dream Lottery has raised OVER $53 Million for London’s hospitals. IT’S A WIN-WIN thanks to loyal supporters like YOU!
Win by helping London’s hospitals provide outstanding specialized, complex, and critical care for patients from across our region – making it a BIG WIN for the hospitals and this year could also be a BIG WIN for YOU! Purchase your Dream Lottery ticket today!