09 Aug What inspires you to give?

What inspires you to give?

Our team was truly touched to receive the note below from Catherine Bussey, an RMHC mom whose story we learned about from Dr. Ed Doherty, a campaign donor and cabinet member,  who is also Catherine’s father and the grandfather of Everett, pictured above.

Everett was born with a congenital heart defect that required 17 surgeries in the first 216 days of his life. In that time, he spent 150 nights in hospital (including 57 spent in the pediatric ICU), and underwent a staggering number of tests, sedations, days of dialysis, and more.

Catherine shares:

“The night following Everett’s original surgery, we went home —at the suggestion of the ICU doctors— to get some rest after an extremely long and stressful day. Our phone woke us at 4:30am. The doctor on the other end told us to get back to the hospital ASAP. Everett had suffered two cardiac arrests, and needed chest compressions for a total of eight minutes before we were able to get to the hospital. The drive from our home to the hospital that morning was beyond agonizing.

Thankfully, the cardiac surgeon and Advanced Life Support (ECMO) Team arrived in time to save Everett. But from that moment on, I was unable to leave the hospital grounds for more than a brief walk for fear that I would not be able to be at Everett’s bedside if another emergency arose. We slept in one of the bedrooms inside the Ronald McDonald Family Room for 13 weeks in order to be as close to Everett as possible. On two other occasions, we were called up to emergency situations in the middle of the night. Being able to jump up and head upstairs to be at his side in minutes meant the world to us.”

– Catherine Bussey
Bedford, N.S.

We’re thrilled to share that Everett is now two years old and heart-strong, and we’re so grateful to Catherine for sharing her story with us, and to Dr. Ed Doherty for helping us understand what inspired his support.