Dear Starlight Supporter,
I’m writing this message to express my sincere gratitude as a Starlight mom who has experienced your incredible generosity firsthand.
My daughter, Finnley, has a primary diagnosis called Beckwith Weideman Syndrome. She was born at 31 weeks and has had a much more complex medical journey than is normally expected with her condition. Finnley has spent approximately 425 days as an inpatient in hospitals, has had approximately 225 outpatient hospital clinic appointments, 20 surgical procedures, attends ongoing intensive therapies for PT, OT, speech, and visual development, and has endured countless tests, invasive procedures, pokes, and exams in between. She has also had to get used to many medical devices along the way including a helmet, boot and bar, ankle-foot orthoses, glasses, eye patch, CPAP, and wheelchair and walker.
Last November, Finnley turned 4 years old. This means that most of her life has been encompassed by her medical journey. She has spent so much of her young life either in hospitals or working hard to recover and rehabilitate at home, all while isolating from the world due to COVID-19 and fear that she would become seriously ill if she caught it. Sadly, Finnley has not had much time to just be a kid, make friends, and simply live the carefree life that a child should be able to live.
As a single mother, this has been a huge impact on me as well and the experiences I have had with Finnley. I have often felt the need to play the role of a nurse and have not always been able to enjoy every moment with my daughter and have fun due to fear and stress.
With the help of people like you, Starlight Canada has been such a wonderful light for us throughout all this hardship. This foundation is so generous and creates such fun and inclusive opportunities for kids like Finnley. There is never a worry that she won’t be able to participate and keep up with the activities, which is a beautiful thing. Finnley looks forward to her experiences with Starlight Canada and absolutely loves the staff at the events. They always remember her, and she remembers them, which makes it even more special than it already is!
Having Starlight Canada brings joy and helps give her fun and exciting moments that she often misses out on due to her needs and busy medical schedule. It allows us as mother and daughter to have a fun day together and helps us take our minds off the pain and worries – even if just for the day. To be able to see Finnley smile so big and jump around with such joy just warms my heart. She feels so special with Starlight Canada!
We are truly grateful for people like you who lend a helping hand in making special moments possible for families like ours. By making your donation at give.starlightcanada.org, you can make the world of a difference for children – just like my Finnley – and remind us that we are not alone. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
With gratitude,
Angela S., Starlight Mom