Sonia Supports the Stollery

We all have our favourite charities and we all know how awesome it feels to give back to our community. My favourite charities are The Children’s Miracle Network and, in particular, one of their partner hospitals, The Stollery Children’s Hospital.

Last week I attended the RE/MAX Activate 14 conference in Vancouver, and I was honoured to receive recognition for my contributions to The Children’s Miracle Network. RE/MAX has been supporting this wonderful organization since 1992, and collectively RE/MAX agents have donated millions of dollars to help so many children. Just another reason why I’m proud to be part of the “RE/MAX Family”.

But for me, I have another, very personal reason for supporting The Stollery Children’s Hospital and The Children’s Miracle Network. In March of 2010, my son Lennox was 6 years old and caught what we thought was a common cold. No big deal, I thought, time to stock up on Kleenex and cough medicine. Then things started to get worse. And worse. What was diagnosed as the common cold quickly turned into a serious, life-threatening viral pneumonia. It’s a mother’s nightmare: one minute, your child has a cough, and the next he’s laying in a hospital bed.

My son Lennox spent three weeks at the Stollery Children’s Hospital at the University of Alberta, and naturally I stayed by his side the entire time. Complications from the pneumonia meant he required immediate surgery, a scary prospect for a six-year-old and his distressed parents. Throughout the entire experience, the doctors, nurses and staff at the Stollery Children’s Hospital were absolutely amazing to us, and their support helped us all through this incredibly difficult time. I am so thankful I live in Sherwood Park, where this kind of state-of-the-art children’s hospital was close at hand in nearby Edmonton. It’s likely the Stollery saved my son’s life.

The Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation is a member of the Children’s Miracle Network, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving lives of children across Canada. These hospitals help families like mine through the worst times, and have been on the frontier of children’s medical technology and research.

Now, I give back to the Stollery and the Children’s Miracle Network because I know. I’ve been there. And I want all those other mothers and their children who find themselves at the Stollery to have the same steadfast support and outstanding care that was provided to my family four years ago. I’m proud to receive an award for my contributions because it means I’ve made a difference. You can bet I’ll keep donating time and money to these two amazing organizations and keep making a difference.

Ready to make a difference, too? Support the Stollery Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network using the links below.

• – Donate to the Stollery Children’s Hospital
• – Volunteer at the Stollery
• – Donate to the Children’s Miracle Network