Grateful Hearts Newsletter Winter 2015
4
In Your 2015 Winter Edition Recreation Therapy ............... 2 A Community That Cares ... 2 A Message from the CEO .... 3 Then & Now ............................. 3 New Beginnings ..................... 3 Loyal Support ........................... 4 Upcoming Events ................... 4 canuckplace.org Jill and Michael Treschow are very proud parents. As they look back on their life with their son Sam, who is sadly no longer with us, it’s difficult to comprehend. Sam was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at the age of seven and cancer as a teenager. He received respite, pain and symptom management and end of life care at Canuck Place. “There is a certain kind of gift in knowing life will be short,” says Jill. “You start to pack in life and savour it in a way that you wouldn’t otherwise. And we did just that with Canuck Place.” Sam, a determined young man, wished to finish high school, despite the aggressive state of his cancer before he passed. “Sam was quirky, he was opinionated, a wrestler and a philosopher. He had a great sense of humour; he was honest and outspoken. He was ours and we loved him fiercely” says Jill. Under the supervision of Canuck Place teacher Joanne Ashdown, Sam reached his goal. Nine days before Sam passed he finished his English 12 exam and officially completed his diploma requirements. “Witnessing his feat with overtaxed condition of body, mind and spirit at the time it was an astonishing triumph”, says Michael. In the last week of Sam’s life, younger brother Paul and his parents were able to be together as a family. “Watching your child go through terminal illness is an unspeakable anguish.” Michael, Jill and Paul are all still very much a part of Canuck Place. After Sam’s passing they joined bereavement counselling to help them through the most difficult times. “I know deep in my heart, the big role that Canuck Place plays in the recovery of parents and families…” The Treschows will always have a place in their hearts for Canuck Place. As Michael explains, “The care Canuck Place provided Sam and our family during his illness and death still ripples out in our lives. How sweet for Jill and I to watch our other son Paul find his way, becoming ever more magnificent. How much do we owe Canuck Place for that sight? It’s incalculable.” Love, Comfort and Gratitude 1690 Matthews Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6J 2T2 Tel: 604.731.4847 Toll-Free: 1.877.882.2288 E-mail: [email protected]
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Our Grateful Hearts Winter 2015 newsletter, featuring family stories, CPCH news, and a word from our CEO, Margaret McNeil
Transcript of Grateful Hearts Newsletter Winter 2015
In Your 2015 Winter Edition
Recreation Therapy ...............2
A Community That Cares ...2
A Message from the CEO .... 3
Then & Now .............................3
New Beginnings .....................3
Loyal Support ...........................4
Upcoming Events ...................4canuckplace.org
Jill and Michael Treschow are very proud parents. As they look back on their life with their son Sam, who is sadly no longer with us, it’s difficult to comprehend. Sam was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at the age of seven and cancer as a teenager. He received respite, pain and symptom management and end of life care at Canuck Place.
“There is a certain kind of gift in knowing life will be short,” says Jill. “You start to pack in life and savour it in a way that you wouldn’t otherwise. And we did just that with Canuck Place.”
Sam, a determined young man, wished to finish high school, despite the aggressive state of his cancer before he passed. “Sam was quirky, he was opinionated, a wrestler and a philosopher. He had a great sense of humour; he was honest and outspoken. He was ours and we loved him fiercely” says Jill.
Under the supervision of Canuck Place teacher Joanne Ashdown, Sam reached his goal. Nine days before Sam passed he finished his English
12 exam and officially completed his diploma requirements. “Witnessing his feat with overtaxed condition of body, mind and spirit at the time it was an astonishing triumph”, says Michael.
In the last week of Sam’s life, younger brother Paul and his parents were able to be together as a family. “Watching your child go through terminal illness is an unspeakable anguish.”
Michael, Jill and Paul are all still very much a part of Canuck Place. After Sam’s passing they joined bereavement counselling to help them through the most difficult times. “I know deep in my heart, the big role that Canuck Place plays in the recovery of parents and families…”
The Treschows will always have a place in their hearts for Canuck Place. As Michael explains, “The care Canuck Place provided Sam and our family during his illness and death still ripples out in our lives. How sweet for Jill and I to watch our other son Paul find his way, becoming ever more magnificent. How much do we owe Canuck Place for that sight? It’s incalculable.”
Love, Comfort and Gratitude
1690 Matthews Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6J 2T2 Tel: 604.731.4847 Toll-Free: 1.877.882.2288 E-mail: [email protected]
2 Canuck Place Grateful Hearts
Recreation can be a distraction from pain. It creates joy and just for a moment a family in our care can be like everyone else, and have the best day ever together.
One family told us they loved skiing. But their daughter needed to use a wheelchair for mobility. They worried they would never be able to ski together as a family. And instead of being an obstacle, the team saw this as an opportunity.
And a few months later, we took the whole family downhill skiing together at Whistler. Emotions took over and the mom said through tears of joy, “I didn’t think we would be a skiing family.”
The Recreation Therapy Team at Canuck Place offer events and activities for the whole family. Activities that build confidence, independence and create a sense of belonging.
The team is not afraid to think outside the box. Through their dedication they help create memories like these, however long or short a life.
But this is only possible with your support. Thank you for helping to make a wish like this come true for families at Canuck Place.
If you would like to learn more about the Recreation Therapy Team’s inspiring work, please visit www.canuckplace.org.
A Peek Inside Canuck Place
Meet Dallas. She has been a part of the Canuck Place volunteer team for 8 wonderful years. It was
Recreation Therapy-Family Time Together
Come inside our doors, and meet some of the people and spaces that make it so very special here.
Thank you!
A Community That Caresfrom the very moment she walked into the garden that she realized Canuck Place was very special.
Dallas is one of over 300 inspiring volunteers who help in many different areas of the hospice including the Kitchen, Reception Housekeeping, Family Support, Administration and Driving; dedicating an unbelievable 23,000 hours of service every year.
When we asked Dallas what she enjoyed most she said “Witnessing pure love… It reminds me to take a moment in my life to tell the people that I love how I feel about them.”
One of her most memorable moments is when she watched a child jumping on a trampoline with his mother. It was remarkable because Dallas had only ever seen the child in a wheelchair. The smiles and pure joy that she saw is something that will forever be held in her mind.
Dallas is grateful for what the families, children and staff have shared with her. Thank you Dallas for your commitment to Canuck Place.
A Message from the CEO: A New Year
New Beginnings Canuck Place-Dave Lede House
Programs at our second provincial location in Abbotsford have started. This past year we moved into the community centered service phase. We are now operating consultation visits by physicians, nurses and counsellors. We are also providing counseling for individual and group relief support as well as recreation therapy for children and families that are a part of the Canuck Place program.
For the next year, Dave Lede House will operate at this capacity until we are able to provide all of the necessary equipment and operational funding. With an estimated 1,400 children in BC living with life-threatening illness, Dave Lede House will help us expand our care even further.
Canuck Place Grateful Hearts 3
Canuck Place is celebrating! For 20 years we have been caring for BC children with life threatening illnesses. And we couldn’t have done it without your help. Here is a look at some Canuck Place milestones.
Welcome to 2015, and what a wonderful year it will be. Canuck Place Children’s Hospice is celebrating 20 years of caring. Which means 20 years of support from generous donors like you.
It is inspiring to see how far we have come and it is thanks to the commitment of the community and the extraordinary efforts of the entire
Canuck Place team. Congratulations to all, I look forward to the journey ahead and celebrating our 20 years of caring together.
Margaret McNeil, Chief Executive Officer
20Help us celebrate
1995 2015Canuck Place opens. Over 560 children and families
on the Canuck Place program.
Cares for 10 different diseases and conditions.
Cares for patients that present over 167 different diseases & conditions.
A 9-year old girl donates funds she raised from a lemonade stand. 83 children raise over $41,000.
Then & Now
years of care
CA
NP1
5001
-4
4 Canuck Place Grateful Hearts
Courage Builder Monthly Donor
The Courage Builder Monthly Donor Program at Canuck Place is an easy way for you to make a difference each month and help the children who come into our lives. A monthly donation is the only gift each month we can plan for. Canuck Place supports both children with life-threatening illness and their families and monthly donations are vital in continuing to provide for children and families each day.
Darlene Edvall is a wonderful example of how even just a little bit each month can go a long way. Darlene became a monthly donor 17 years ago, only giving
what she could afford. She was a single mother of two and it was going to be a bit of a stretch but she realized the importance of her gift. The day she became a monthly donor, is one she will never forget. The thought of helping a child and their family warmed her heart. She understood that by making a monthly donation no matter how little, she was going to continue to help the children and families that were in our care.
Today, as a loyal monthly donor Darlene is a true advocate for the importance of monthly giving, “I believe in the work they do at Canuck Place and how they help children and their families… Canuck Place helps ease the pain, fears and makes the unbearable a little easier to bear. This is such a worthwhile purpose, I can’t imagine not wanting to help.”
If you’re not already part of the Courage Builder Monthly Donor Program please visit www.canuckplace.org or use the enclosed form to join today.
Gift of Love Gala | February 7, 2015 www.canuckplacegiftoflove.ca Celebrate love in support of Canuck Place at our inaugural Fraser Valley Gala.
Youth Retreat | March 2015 Empowers children with life-threatening illnesses.
Gift of Time Gala | October 3, 2015 Enjoy a fabulous evening of dining, live entertainment and auctions to support the Canuck Place cause.
Loyal Support
Upcoming Events
Did you know
that making a monthly
donation is a wonderful
way to support
Canuck Place? Just
a few pennies a day
makes a big difference.
You can become a
monthly donor at
www.canuckplace.org
or by contacting
Ryan Eason at
or at (604) 646-1343.
Leaving a bequest in your will, after you have taken
care of your family, is
a wonderful way to
support Canuck Place.
If you are interested
in leaving a legacy gift
in your will, please
contact Denise Praill at
or at (604) 646-1341.
