Final push for Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation radiothon
Little hearts and little lungs continue to receive support from donors across the province.
It’s all part of the annual radiothon for the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital (JPCH) that sees more than 30 radio stations across the province helping the JPCH Foundation raise funds over two days for important medical equipment and resources. This year, the funds are being directed to cardiac care and respiratory equipment.
The foundation said donors can help provide cutting-edge tools for the diagnosis and management of various breathing disorders including asthma, cystic fibrosis, sleeping disorders, premature lung disorders, and congenital airway anomalies. Enhancements like fetal heart monitors are vital equipment used in assessments and are fundamental in labour and birth. The information is used to determine how quickly an infant may need to be delivered or how best to manage labour effectively. Last year, there were 5,330 babies born at JPCH.
Over the course of the radiothon broadcast, listeners are hearing ‘Miracle Stories’ like that of seven-month-old Mark from Makwa, Sask. He defied all odds, staying in utero nearly nine weeks after his mother Katie’s water broke at 18 weeks of pregnancy. Mark was born a few weeks later through an emergency caesarean. As of today, the baby has spent the majority of his life intubated and in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), but has recently been extubated to non-invasive ventilation in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at JPCH.