When I was asked by Wilsons to share my story about the I.W.K. Childrens Hospital I jumped at the chance.

This hospital changed my life and I will be forever grateful. Hopefully no one reading this will ever understand what it is like to spend time there but at least you will have an inside perspective to how all our fundraising and hard work will touch someone elses life. This is my story. I am the mother of two very handsome little boys. Carter turned 5 in November and Tyler is 2 and a half. I am also a type 1 diabetic which adds a lot of extra concerns during pregnancy. I was followed very closely throughout both pregnancies on the womens side of the I.W.K. I went to weekly clinics to manage my ever changing diabetes and had regular ultrasounds on the 7th floor. During my 20th week of pregnancy with Tyler, an ultrasound revealed a problem with his tiny heart. The hospital than sent me to the Heart Center located on the Childrens side to see a cardiologist. My husband Kirk, my mother and I were taken into a room to wait for the doctor to come talk to us. When the doctor entered the room he sat down with a picture of a heart and very clearly explained the problem to us. The ultrasound showed a problem with his aortic valve. The valve was too narrow for blood to travel through so the heart could not operate properly. He told us that there was a chance if it didnt correct itself by the time Tyler was born that he would require heart surgery to have a small balloon put inside the valve to open it up. He said that this could usually be done as a laparoscopic surgery and that Tyler would be fine. I had three echo cardiograms of Tylers heart during the remainder of my pregnancy but the problem didnt seem to be correcting itself over the weeks and months that followed that first ultrasound. Little did I know at the time that Tylers heart problems were just the beginning of a very long relationship we would form with all the Doctors and Nurses at the I.W.K. On May 26th 2009 I went into labor at home and headed into the hospital. I was full of anxiety worrying about Tylers heart after delivery but at the same time so excited to meet him and get him better. After several hours of labor I suffered a tear in my placenta and had to have an emergency c-section. It turned out

that Tylers umbilical cord was only 3 inches long which is why I had a tear during delivery. The Dr. bundled Tyler up and handed him to my very proud husband. Our excitement was short lived because almost immediately after they handed him to Kirk his nose started to bleed and he started to form bruises all over his tiny body. The Dr. immediately sent him to the N.I.C.U. to have some tests well I waited anxiously in recovery for news on my new baby. It turned out that Tyler had a very rare condition where he was born with almost no platelets in his blood. Tyler was going to require several blood transfusions before he could come out of his incubator or he could bleed to death from internal bleeding. They also told us that the short umbilical cord is also very rare but that it saved his life. If I hadnt had the c-section Tyler would have died during delivery. I spent months leading up to his delivery worrying about his heart and now I had something totally different to worry about. Tyler had 7 blood transfusions over the next 6 days and then finally got to come out of the incubator. Unfortunately once they had the platelet condition sorted out he was sent back to cardiology. The condition with his heart unfortunately didnt get better and turned out to be worse than they had originally thought. He had four holes in his heart that would have to be repaired. They told us that the holes could not be fixed laparoscopically and that Tyler was going to require open heart surgery. They wanted to wait until Tyler was bigger and stronger before doing the surgery as well as make sure the condition with his blood was no longer an issue so we got to bring him home. Tyler was home for a couple of weeks when we went into the Heart center for a checkup. His cardiologist Dr. Warren told us that Tyler was in the beginning stages of heart failure and would need to be admitted to the childrens hospital right away. I was not prepared to stay at the hospital that day and after we got Tyler admitted the nurse brought me down the hall and showed me where all the supplies were. They had a storage room full of toothpaste, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, soothers, diapers, etc. Everything you would need to get by without a packed overnight bag. There was a kitchen at the end of the hall with cereal,

milk, juice, ice cream, bread, etc. so that I could just go down and make myself something to eat. Each floor had its own washer and dryer so that you could wash your personal clothes and the nurses asked me right away what they could bring Tyler to make him happy and feel at home. They brought him a mobile and a baby swing. I spent the next five months in the I.W.K. and can honestly say it became home for me. Kirk would bring Carter into visit us as often as possible. We would go outside and play at the playground or watch the train or the fish in the lobby. They booked Tylers heart surgery for September 1st and we started our daily countdown. We had a photographer come into the hospital and take pictures of Carter and Tyler. Three days before his heart surgery the hospital reserved the chapel for us and the minister that married Kirk and I, as well as baptized Carter came in and baptized Tyler. It wasnt the way I thought we would do things but it was important for us to have him baptized before his surgery. We had a small reception with all of our family at the hospital that day, even some of Tylers nurses and Dr. Warren attended. September 1st 2009 was the hardest and longest day of my life. Tyler went into surgery that morning for six hours and all we could do was wait. Tyler made it through surgery and was moved into the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for the next 7 days. The hospital moved me into a private parent room right outside the P.I.C.U. until he moved back up to his regular room. I would spend hours sitting beside Tyler in Intensive care talking to the nurses. They explained the purpose of every tube, needle, and sensor on him to me. They told me that they gave him something that paralyzed him so he couldnt move but that he could still hear me. They told me to watch his heart rate when I talked to him or held his hand because he would know when I was there and he did. The nurses also encouraged me to take lots of pictures of him while in the hospital. It felt weird to take pictures of him in intensive care with tubes coming out of every part of his little body. The nurse explained that this was a big part of Tylers life and even if I tuck them away and never look at them that someday

he might want to see them. Those 7 days in the P.I.C.U were very hard. I was terrified to hold him because I thought I would hurt him. The nurses made me learn how to change him, bath him, play with him and hold him again until I was confident I could do it by myself. At every telethon for the I.W.K. they ask people to become superstars. Those are people that agree to have a monthly donation come out of their account for the full year. It takes 10 superstars to purchase 1 smart pump. Smart pumps are machines that deliver very small exact doses of medication similar to an I.V. When Tyler was in the P.I.C.U. he was hooked up to 19 smart pumps at the same time. That means that 190 people had to come together to raise the money for a fraction of the equipment that kept Tyler alive. I now know from the absolute bottom of my heart that there is nowhere else I would want my children to be if they are sick. I was so happy to go home with Tyler but at the same time was sad to leave the safety and security of the hospital. The doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff are the best around. They are very special people to be able to do what they do. They meet families on the worst day of their lives all the time and find a way to make you believe things will get better. They laugh with you and cry with you and make you feel as comfortable as they can for being in a bad situation. We still have several appointments a month in the hospital. Tyler has been seen in hematology, plastic surgery, genetics, cardiology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, audiology, and respirology. There are still doctors and nurses that remember us by name when they see us and we always go back to visit 7-link where we spent most of our time while we were there. I dont feel sad now when I think about my time there. I met so many people that came from out of town and even province that didnt have the company or family support that I did. Also I met so many parents that will never be lucky enough to take their children home. I know that every story about the I.W.K. doesnt have a happy ending. But even those parents I am sure would tell you they received so much love and support from the hospital during that very difficult time.

I saw first hand where the money raised every year is used. I owe my sons life to that hospital and am very proud to work for a company like Wilsons Fuel Co. that supports their cause. I cant really explain how special the I.W.K. is but I hope none of you ever find out. They have changed so many lives and my sweet smiling two year old son is one of them. Thank you everyone for your help in supporting such an important cause. Angela Faulkner