Chloe and Caleb have grown up at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. Even though the twins live with different conditions, the hospital continues to be a lifeline for each of them.
Chloe was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) at birth, thanks to metabolic newborn screening – a result of research funded by the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. Since she was a baby, she has been followed by the CF Clinic. Just recently, she started on a new medication that her mom says has saved and changed her life and has allowed her to live a typical life. She even plays a reed instrument in her school band and is so talented, she was awarded a prestigious scholarship to a band camp!
Caleb’s journey with the hospital began when he was four. When he was urinating frequently, always thirsty and then started complaining of stomach pain, his mom took him to their family doctor who eventually sent him to Emergency at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. There bloodwork revealed he has Type 1 Diabetes. As she was thrown into this whole new world of insulin injections and finger pokes and managing diet for her young son, right around Christmastime, Melissa was grateful to be able to receive training from specialized staff at the Diabetes Clinic on how to manage his condition at home. The family spent that Christmas in hospital, but they appreciated the gift of the education to best care for Caleb.
During this journey, Melissa became a single parent, so she also appreciated having access to the donor-funded Special Children’s Fund to help her pay for medical expenses until she received work benefits. “I couldn’t afford to pay out of pocket,” she says. “Where would he be if he couldn’t access what he can now? Donors of the Special Children’s fund are angels, and they too saved my child’s life.”
When he was eight, Caleb received an arm sensor so he could monitor his own glucose levels by scanning it against his phone – the results were also sent to Melissa’s phone too – and give himself injections at school, under a teacher’s supervision. However last year, he was admitted to hospital when he went into Diabetic ketoacidosis, a serious and potentially life-threatening condition. Thankfully, his team was able to provide him with the life-saving care he needed and now, he can manage his Diabetes more easily with an insulin pump.
When you ask Melissa what the hospital means to her, she says it means the world. Not only has their care teams saved her kids’ lives and helped them thrive, but they have supported her as well over the years. When she herself went through a cancer journey nine years ago, and needed a bone marrow transplant, the Child Life team who were working with Chloe on her Beaded Journey through the CF Clinic, helped her make her mom her own Beaded Journey keychain, that she still treasures today. She calls donors who support the hospital “angels.”
