The Alberta Children’s Hospital is a special place to Claire and her family. That’s because her team of specialists and support from our generous community have helped her do things her family never dreamed would be possible for her.
Claire has cerebral palsy and is nonverbal and immobile but is intellectually intact and highly aware and has a lot to say.
Thanks to her team of specialists and innovative technology made possible at the hospital called Brain Computer Interface or BCI, she is learning to use her mind to do things her body cannot. Wearing a special headset, she thinks certain words that signal the BCI to control computer devices like on/off switches or a computer mouse. Thanks also to at-home BCI kits, which Radiothon listeners helped fund, Claire can turn on lights, switch on toys, play video games and games with her family, operate the blender to make smoothies, and help her mom bake by switching on appliances. BCI has opened up a whole new world of opportunities for her. Stephanie says Claire has always been a member of their family but today, she is an “active participant” of it, too.
This year, Claire was the Champion for the Alberta Children’s Hospital – the official ambassador for the 100,000 kids and families care for at the hospital. She has inspired our community and others across North America about the life-saving life-changing care that takes place at this hospital, thanks in large part to our generous donors. Through the hospital, she’s also learned how to walk using a TREXO Robotic Walker, which just on Sunday she used to walk onto the ice to drop the puck at the Hitmen game! She travelled to Orlando in April this year for Children’s Hospitals Week where she got to meet other Champions like her.
The Alberta Children’s Hospital and people who support it mean so much to Claire and her family. Since Claire was little, Stephanie’s dream has been to be able to communicate with her. Thanks to her BCI team, she can! She is excited at the potential BCI holds – for her it’s making the impossible possible.