When Alessandra describes Holland Bloorview as having “a sense of familiarity,” she means it. She knows the routines. She knows the activities she likes. And, most importantly, she knows the people.
Alessandra first stayed at Holland Bloorview when she was six-years-old, spending more than three months as an inpatient and celebrating her seventh birthday here. Five years later, she returned for her second inpatient stay.
More than getting through the day
There’s a rhythm to Alessandra’s days as an inpatient. Physiotherapy happens twice a day, sometimes with games like Cups or Match Madness worked into the session. In between, she might head to cooking or drawing, play Nintendo Switch in the lounge, or get into the pool for recreational swimming.
That last one feels particularly like Alessandra. Outside Holland Bloorview, she’s a synchronized swimmer and has also been taking lessons to build her strength.
But after two inpatient stays, it’s the relationships that have made the hospital feel familiar. Alessandra has gotten to know the nurses and other members of her care team, while her mother, Jolane, found a community of her own among other parents and caregivers.
“You can meet other parents who want to and care to hear your story,” Jolane says. “It’s always been a welcoming place.”
Jolane noticed Alessandra becoming more curious about the work happening around her. She participated in a virtual hand and fine motor research study and has paid closer attention to what nurses do during their check-ins. It even sparked an idea about what she might want to do one day.
“I would 100 per cent come back to work here as a nurse,” Alessandra says.
Alessandra’s daring vision is exactly what’s needed to help close critical gaps in care for kids with disabilities. As Canada’s hospital for kids with disabilities, Holland Bloorview is training the next generation of healthcare professionals to provide the specialized care that kids with disabilities need, improving access to care across the country.
And the situation is critical. Today there are only 159 developmental pediatricians serving the more than one million children and youth with disabilities across Canada. Our developmental pediatrics subspecialty residency and fellowship program is the largest in Canada, and thanks to The Slaight Family Foundation we are doubling the number of trainees each year. During their two-year fellowship at Holland Bloorview, pediatricians expand their knowledge around caring for kids with disabilities.
This specialized care was crucial to Alessandra’s stay at Holland Bloorview, and inspired her to envision a future in pediatric disability health care. While she still has a long way to go before she figures out what’s next, Alessandra already sees how daring to speak up can contribute to something bigger.
For Alessandra, that’s what it means to dare: getting involved today, while staying open to where it might take her tomorrow.
One day, she could very well walk these same halls again, not as a client, but as the familiar face another kid is happy to see.