A gift 30 years in the making
Russell de Souza is here today because of SickKids. The mother of this Professor of McMaster University Faculty of Health Sciences, Rosemarie de Souza, is certain of it. Which makes her the best person to tell his story. This is from the beautiful note she wrote to us about her family’s connection to SickKids:
Russ was our seventh attempt at being parents (I had 6 miscarriages!). He was born in November, 1974, at Mount Sinai hospital (where I had spent 3 months on bed rest), at 6 months gestation, weighing 2.5 lbs. He was immediately wheeled underground to SickKids.
"We felt that SickKids certainly merits being remembered in our will.”
He seemed to have done well the first few days – then reality set in. He had to have excessive amounts of oxygen, and later developed RLP (retrolental fibroplasia) and was sightless. He regained his sight much later. He had an ileostomy, but because he was so tiny, could not be operated on again until he was over a year old. He spent the better part of his first year (and even had his 1st birthday) at SickKids. We visited daily. The team dedicated to his care – and I mean “dedicated” – not only took care of him like he was their own, but comforted us and encouraged us on days when there seemed to have been no hope at all. They kept us informed of his ups and downs, and our nightly phone calls for updates were handled with honesty and compassion.
Over many days and nights, we came to respect the work of the staff and nurses. We knew gifted surgeons, with determination and special skills, would perform the delicate procedures this fragile infant would need. We thought: “Other people’s donations and countless prayers gave us our son – now it is our turn.”
The family have been donors for over 30 years. If anyone has anything to add, it’s her husband, Colman, who still calls Rosemarie “my wife, my darling wife, my bride”. He echoes her sentiments: “We have only one son. We believe that if it wasn’t for SickKids, we wouldn’t even have this one child. So we felt that SickKids certainly merits being remembered in our will.”
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Today you have the ability to change the lives of future generations of children. When you give a gift to SickKids Foundation in your will, all kids get a brighter tomorrow thanks to breakthrough research and treatment. To learn more about giving a gift in your will and how to best make a difference, please provide your contact information.
