SickKids patient ambassador Madison Scott, 13, was honoured as the 2010 Champion Child presented by Walmart Canada on Tuesday.
The ceremony took place at her elementary school in Brooklin, ON, and included a special $1,000 Walmart gift card presented to Madison. The celebration was shared with her teachers and Grade 8 classmates, many of whom witness to Madison’s battle with cancer.
In the fall of 2007, Madison was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma (ALL), the most common childhood cancer. She completed her last chemotherapy treatment in January at The Hospital for Sick Children. Madison is an active fundraiser for SickKids Foundation and has raised more than $30,000 for the Hospital. This feat, combined with her charisma, personality and positive attitude, makes Madison a well deserving Champion.
As Champion, she will travel to Ottawa and Walt Disney World in November along with 11 other Champion children from Children’s Miracle Network hospital foundations across Canada. For the next year, she will be the SickKids spokesperson for Walmart’s fundraising initiatives for Children’s Miracle Network including the Walmart Walk for Miracles in the spring. Congratulations Madison!
Getting a needle is never fun. Andrew, 3, looked to our experts for answers as to why it’s necessary.
Q: "Why do I have to get shots?" ~ Andrew, 3, Sherman Oaks, CA
Here is the answer from Dr. Anna Taddio, PhD, pharmacist and adjunct scientist in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences program at the SickKids Research Institute.
A: “Bad germs can hurt your body and shots can stop these bad germs. A shot is a medicine that makes your body fight bad germs better so that you don’t get sick. You have to get shots to help to keep your body healthy.”
The scientists at SickKids are experts in most areas of health and life science. They spend their days asking tough questions and searching out the answers. Now it is your turn to ask them the tough questions.
Have you ever had a burning question about your body or about your health and didn’t know how to find the answer? This might just be the opportunity to get to the bottom of it!
You have the chance to submit your question and it will be answered by a scientist who specializes in that area. The best questions and answers will be featured on the Research Institute website: http://www.sickkids.ca/research.
Check the website often to see if your question gets posted. You can learn about what others want to know and if you read enough answers, you may even become a health expert yourself!
The 2010 recipient of the Rotman Award for Paediatric Home Care Innovation was announced yesterday at The Hospital for Sick Children. Vancouver Island’s Foster Parent Support Services Society’s ‘Safe Babies Foster Parent Education and Support Program’ was presented the $100,000 grant.
The ‘Safe Babies Foster Parent Education and Support Program’ was developed in response to an increasing need for qualified caregivers in the foster care system to provide the physical, cognitive and emotional development to infants exposed to substances.
The Rotman Award for Paediatric Home Care Innovation was created five years ago by SickKids Foundation and is funded by Janis Rotman. Its purpose is to improve home and community health care and treatment for Canadian children. It was developed to help recognize, grow and advance the work of home care delivery systems in paediatrics. This is the fifth and final year of the award, which has seen a total of $500,000 awarded to the best Canadian paediatric home care programs.