CHEO, OCTC, & Me

Today is the CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) Telethon. I've already made my yearly donation and now I want to share why it's so important for me to do that.

Growing up, I spent a lot of time at both CHEO and OCTC (Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre), which recently merged. Between the two places, I had at least five regular doctors and a whole host of others who saw me over the course of twelve years.  Lots of routine appointments and a few scary surgeries and hospital stays, but some good times too.

OCTC was where my parents first learned about both Tae E Lee's Taekwondo and Easter Seals Camp Merrywood, still two of the best experiences I've ever had! It was also through the Treatment Centre's Teens First program that I got to meet and befriend many other youth with physical disabilities.

When I hit my late teens and my time at these institutions was nearing an end, it was a bittersweet experience. On the plus side, it was a sign that I was reaching adulthood. On the downside, the transition, in some cases, left much to be desired. Those few issues resolved themselves though, and I moved into adult healthcare. However, it turned out that neither CHEO or OCTC were done with me.

As I've written about a few times, I was in the middle of a routine appointment with my family doctor in 2011, when she brought up Joubert syndrome. Genetic testing was recommended, and that brought me right back to CHEO, a good eight years after my last appointment, to their Genetics clinic. And, we know how that turned out (new diagnosis, rare disorder, speaking/writing, tons of friends, etc.)!

My return to OCTC came a little later. In a moment of combined boredom and ambition during the winter of 2013, I decided to volunteer with OCTC's Foundation office, doing fundraising, data entry, research, and other small jobs. I had originally only planned on doing it for a short while, but I liked it so much I kept at it for the next three years!

I've been fortunate enough to be able to finds different ways to give back to these institutions, without whom I literally would not be alive today, and will continue to do so in the future.

Cheers!