Meet Berkley: Walking for SickKids
On Saturday, September 23, The Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure Walk will enter its fifth year. A 5 to 20 km walk to benefit SickKids, the Great Camp Adventure Walk brings the spirit of summer camp to downtown Toronto. This year, a former SickKids patient, Berkley, will be joining the adventure for the first time, and she’s pretty excited about it. Meet Berkley and learn why she has decided to support SickKids through the Great Camp Adventure Walk.Hello, my name is Berkley. I am a former SickKids patient and I’ll be participating in the Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure Walk for the first time in September. My inspiration for joining the walk is simple. I left SickKids for the last time in 2014 and, because of the incredible care that I received from Dr. Dirks and his team in the neurosurgery department, I wanted to give back in some way. Even if it’s only a small portion in comparison to what they gave me; my life back.
In 2011, I developed a constant headache. After multiple procedures and surgeries at my local hospital, the doctors there believed that the headache would be gone after the infection I developed in my shunt cleared up. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I was then prescribed several medications that did nothing for the pain, and even underwent another surgery to have a new type of valve inserted that would be able to change the pressure within my shunt without the need for surgery. Unfortunately, the surgery wasn’t successful and my team of doctors were left wondering what the next step was for me. Together, we decided that the next best step was for me to go to SickKids and, in 2012, I began seeing Dr. Dirks.
Dr. Dirks immediately came up with a game plan, and conducted many tests. After the tests were complete, he held off on doing any surgeries until my headache got even worse. Once the pain from the headache became unbearable, he ordered an MRI, which showed a slight difference in ventricle size from when I was “well”.
"I can’t wait to meet other patients who share the same goal; to give back to SickKids."
We opted for exploratory shunt surgery in July of 2013, which led to the discovery that my shunt valve had been blocked. Dr. Dirks replaced the blocked portion of the shunt, and I was sent home for the first time in over 2 years, headache free. However, this was short lived and I was back at SickKids having a second shunt valve placed.
We then worked on finding a balance between pressure settings on both valves. After developing another shunt infection in January of 2014, I underwent two more surgeries and eventually left the hospital with a fixed pressure shunt valve. To this day, this valve is still going strong, just like me! Because of this incredible hospital, I am now able to say that I have been headache free since 2015, and I owe it all to Dr. Dirks, his team, as well as Dr. Kulkarni and Dr. Rutka, who assisted with my surgeries.
To help reach my fundraising goal, I plan on selling shirts that I had designed based off of a “Hydro(cephalus) Warrior” sweater that I had custom made a couple years ago. It got a lot of positive feedback from my friends and family! You can check them out here. I’ll also be asking my network on social media to donate as well!
I’m already counting down the days until the walk! I can’t wait to meet other patients who share the same goal that I had going into this whole experience; to give back to SickKids.
See you in September!
-Berkley
Registration is now open for this year’s Great Camp Adventure Walk. Check out www.walkforsickkids.ca to learn all about the walk, including tips to help you fundraise before the big day. We hope to see you on September 23!
