As part of the thousands of children with heart conditions currently being cared for at the SickKids' Heart Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) treats over 200 patients with pacemakers and defibrillators.

Despite the existence of a number of medical subspecialty summer camps in Ontario and Canada, until 2004 there had been no summer camp in Canada for children with heart disease.

This summer, the cardiac team at SickKids has organized the 3rd annual Camp Oki, the first (and only) overnight camp in Canada for children with congenital heart conditions. From August 13th to August 19th, children from the pacemaker clinics at SickKids and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario will spend six days at Camp Oki, located on Lake Joseph in Muskoka.

The name 'Oki' refers to the Huron spirits of nature and healing. Campers will enjoy water activities, arts and crafts, and campfires, while medical supervision will be provided on-site by a SickKids team of cardiologists, nurses and pacemaker technologists.

Several families have difficulty in finding a mainstream summer camp that is comfortable accepting a child with a heart condition. Camp Oki provides fun activities for children and also comfort for their parents who often hesitate to let their children participate in physical activities or sleepovers where easy access to specialized medical and nursing expertise is unavailable.

"Camp Oki is now four times bigger than our first year, and we would love to see it continue grow so that children with cardiac problems from across Ontario and Canada can enjoy all that summer camp has to offer. Camp Oki is a place where they can have fun, challenge themselves and make friends and memories that will last a lifetime," says Dr. Joel Kirsh, founder and medical director of Camp Oki and a cardiologist at SickKids.

Donations to the camp can be made c/o SickKids Foundation, Attention Camp Oki, 525 University Ave., 14th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2L3 or by calling (416) 813-6166

Meet Ryley:

When Ryley was only two months old, she began vomiting and showed signs of laboured breathing. In September 2005, she was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy – a fatal heart defect. She was transferred to The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto. Ryley and her family live in Woodstock, Ontario.

Dilated cardiomyopathy occurs when disease-affected muscle fibers lead to enlargement of one or more chambers of the heart. This weakens the heart's pumping ability. The goal of treatment is to control symptoms and stop the disease's progression. However, no cure currently exists for this condition. Ryley was given several medications to improve her heart function, but when she showed little improvement, doctors informed the family that a heart transplant was her only chance of survival.

Although heart disease is prevalent in Ryley's family, the news was shocking. She was put on the organ transplant list in Toronto and doctors informed the family that there was no way of predicting when a donor heart might become available. Each day that passed was crucial to Ryley, as her heart was failing quickly.

Ten days after being placed on the transplant list, Ryley received her new heart. Part of the reason Ryley received her heart so quickly was because doctors at SickKids were able to transplant a heart that was not typically compatible with Ryley's own blood type. SickKids pioneered research that led to the discovery that hearts of a different blood type from the recipient can be transplanted into newborn babies because their immune systems are not yet mature enough to reject them.

Ryley recovered well from her transplant and was discharged 11 days later. Although she will be on anti-rejection medication for most of her life and may require another heart transplant in the future, her parents could not be happier with her progress post-transplant. For the first time since she was born, Ryley has energy and countless smiles.

Read about other kids like Ryley at www.sickkidsfoundation.com.

Meet Dr. Joel Kirsh:
Growing up in Toronto, Dr. Joel Kirsh was familiar with The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). Little did he realize that one day, he would be part of the world-renowned SickKids cardiology team.

Dr. Kirsh is a paediatric cardiac electrophysiologist focusing on heart rhythm
abnormalities. However, he didn’t initially think his post-secondary education would lead him on this path. Dr. Kirsh started as a biomedical engineer and finished the graduate program at Northwestern University in Chicago. Realizing that he wanted to become a physician, Dr. Kirsh returned to Toronto to attend medical school at the University of Toronto in 1988 and during his rotations at SickKids, he realized he wanted to specialize in paediatrics – more specifically, paediatric cardiology. Dr. Kirsh completed visiting fellowships in both London and Boston and subsequently returned to Toronto again, this time as staff in the Division of Cardiology. He is also cross-appointed in the Cardiac Critical Care program.

He feels that working here has given him an opportunity that he never dreamed was possible. Working here for a number of years has allowed Dr. Kirsh to become involved in many Foundation activities. “A hospital is only as strong as its Foundation keeps it,” explains Dr. Kirsh. “The Foundation understands the need for the collaboration of researchers and clinicians to ensure the best possible outcome is achieved.”

Along with volunteering for Foundation events, Dr. Kirsh has also been a recipient of Foundation support. In 2003, Dr. Kirsh developed and established Camp Oki, a summer camp for kids with heart disease, the first in Canada. Dr. Kirsh realized the need for the initiative, and together with
other SickKids staff and the Foundation’s support, they established the week-long retreat for cardiac patients.

Visit a Dairy Queen (DQ) location near you on Thursday, August 10 and buy a Blizzard for Miracle Treat Day. The proceeds from every Blizzard sold at DQ locations across Canada and the United States will benefit the Children's Miracle Network (CMN), an international non-profit organization dedicated to generating funds and awareness for children's hospitals in North America.

On Miracle Treat Day, all funds that are raised in Northern and South Central Ontario will go to The Hospital for Sick Children.

Saturday August 12 is the second annual Fairchild Radio Car Wash Day for SickKids. Last year, this one-day event raised over $8,000 for SickKids Foundation.

This year's six-hour broadcast features – for the first time – SickKids stories and interviews with families from the Chinese community that have been touched by the hospital. Not only will you hear compelling stories broadcast in Cantonese and Mandarin, but you will also have the opportunity to have your car washed for only $20 with all proceeds coming to SickKids Foundation.

The Car Wash will take place in Fairchild Radio's parking lot located at 135 East Beaver Creek Road (East of Leslie).

SickKids Foundation will be the onsite charitable partner for the Hazelton Lanes Summer Side Walk Sale. Come to the SickKids table to purchase a fun and fashionable item from our SickKids BelieveWear line of merchandise which supports research, education and equipment at The Hospital for Sick Children.

As an added bonus, customers that make purchases over $100.00 at the sidewalk sale will receive a Bravery Heart Bracelet complements of SickKids Foundation.

The Hazelton Lanes is located at 55 Avenue Road in Toronto and the sidewalk sale runs from August 9 – 13, 10:00am - 6:00pm on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and 10:00am - 7:00pm on Thursday, 12:00pm - 5:00pm on Sunday.

Jessica Durigon was only a year old when she lost her life to a brain tumour. With your help, we want to give researchers at SickKids the resources they need to quickly translate new discoveries into effective treatments so families like Jessica's don't have to face the same fate.

Jessica's Footprint: A Walk in the Park raises money to support brain tumour research. This 5K route through York Road Park in Guelph is being held on Saturday, August 19th, 2006.

Please support the Durigon family and friends and register to participate in and/or make a donation to this fun event.

Don’t miss this exciting event being held at the Chapters location at Runnymede and Bloor. You’ll enjoy a fun-filled day of crafting, author appearances and autograph sessions, and yes, SickKids very own “Tails” is being performed off-site to the general public for the very first time!

Chapters will be donating a portion of the proceeds from all sales that day to support renovations to the Lung Clinic playroom at SickKids. You can also visit some of the area businesses who will be selling Smiling Sun icons to place your name on and show your support of this great project as well.

Watch for more information and special guests to be released on the SickKids Foundation website calendar soon!