Victoria, Michael Garron Hospital Foundation, and “the moustache”…

It’s true there are many stories on ECHOage that make us cry, laugh, sigh. This one is unique, and worth retelling, it made us all stop and say: “Wow”. In the words of Victoria’s mom Amy, here is the story:

We live in a great house in East York, just a few blocks from Michael Garron Hospital where Victoria was born. The hospital is also where Victoria was cared for after a recent fall at school. Victoria fell and hit her head. Paramedics were called and she and I rode in the ambulance together. Victoria was captivated by the paramedics, who made her feel safe when she was scared and hurt. One of them had a crazy moustache, which Victoria thought was just about the coolest thing ever. When it was time to plan her birthday, we talked about ECHOage. Victoria said she wanted to “help kids and babies where I was born, and where “the moustache” helped me when I fell”. One of Victoria’s classmates’ dad is a police officer. When he heard about Victoria’s generosity, he felt compelled to track down “the moustache”. He found him! And he was able to come to Victoria’s birthday party to say “thank you” in person for Victoria’s donation to the hospital. They even let Victoria and her friends explore the ambulance!

Victoria has spastic dilpegia, a type of cerebral palsy (CP). CP affects everyone differently. For Victoria, she has very tight muscles in her legs, which make it difficult to walk. She wears leg braces and uses a walker to get around. Recently, we have been borrowing a used ice sledge so that she can go on school skating trips at our local arena. For her birthday, she received her very own, made-just-for-her ice sledge.

Happy Birthday To Victoria from the whole team at ECHOage! You made us cry, laugh, sigh. We’ll all be thinking of you throughout the holiday season, of you, your amazing generosity, of “the moustache” and the ice sledge. Thank you Victoria and Amy. XOXO ECHOage