Being a mother is the hardest job in the world. Being a mom to my two amazing boys at home, while missing my son who died, is even more challenging. As Mother’s Day approaches, I’m reminded again of his loss but also of the beautiful ways in which he continues to inspire me. This year, […] Read more…
Archive of ‘Giving Back’ category
5 Valentine’s Day Gifts that Give Back
This month is all about the heart and love. Since I will always be a “Heart Mom”, it’s important to our family to give back during February in honour of Heart Month and Valentine’s Day. The heart means something very special in our family, as our son Zack was born with a Congenital Heart Defect […] Read more…
Air Canada Foundation Supports SickKids and Families Like Mine
One of my sweetest and most comforting joys since our son Zack died has been sharing his story of bravery, perseverance and courage. Talking about Zack’s short but meaningful life with strangers, reminds me that his legacy lives on through those stories that can inspire and connect me with other families who may also have […] Read more…
We Can’t Wait to Walk for SickKids again!
Do you have a SickKids story? We do. We’ve seen the miracles, first hand, that take place within those walls at SickKids. We were given the gift of 3 years with our child, when the odds were against him from the start. Not nearly enough, but we may never have known how truly amazing he […] Read more…
Our Holiday Traditions Include Giving Back
After losing a child, it’s not difficult to believe that we would find the holidays really tough. We can’t buy our Zack any gifts or celebrate the joy of the holidays with all three of our boys and it truly makes Christmas really tough each year. We hold onto the sweet memories of our three […] Read more…
Why You Should Register for the Walk for SickKids
We did it! For the fourth year in a row, Paul and I walked the full 20km…but this time the boys joined us! I really thought that we might only do 10km this year, for a few different reasons (mostly that we didn’t have anyone to hang with the kids when they pooped out at […] Read more…
Tips to Help you Reach your #WalkforSickKids Fundraising Goal
Not going to lie….I was sweating a bit when the calendar turned to September and I had yet to start our Walk for SickKids fundraising efforts. This is our fourth year walking 20km (the kids walk 10km) in The Great Camp Adventure Walk to honour our son Zack, who died 5 and a half years ago. The reasons that we […] Read more…
Why I’m a McHappy Day Supporter!
The day Zack was born and we were aware of his urgent cardiac needs, we spent the night at our local hospital begging for a room in Toronto. The Cardiac NICU team told us that there were no rooms at SickKids and made us aware that our other options were London, Hamilton or Montreal! We […] Read more…
Celebrating National Heart Month this February
February is Heart Month and there is no better month to raise awareness for Congential Heart Defects and for the Labatt Family Heart Centre at SickKids. It is no secret that my family loves SickKids Hospital in Toronto for all that it did for our son Zack. When Zack was first born, he was diagnosed […] Read more…
Reaching our Goal for the #WalkforSickKids
We reached our fundraising goal of $1500 for the Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure Walk for SickKids and now I want to go for $2000! We are so blessed to have friends and family who have always been there to support our fundraising efforts, in Zack’s honour and I have often marveled at how so many people […] Read more…