Life-saving, life-changing moments happen every day at the Alberta Children’s Hospital because of people like you. The generosity of our community equips skilled specialists with the life-saving tools they need to ensure kids like Ely receive the best treatment when it matters most. ❤️
A life saved, a beautiful life to live: Ely’s story
Fourteen surgeries — each one requiring the most skilled hands, the most precise equipment, and a hospital ready for any child, any diagnosis, any challenge. As a baby, Ely’s life — and her future — depended on the Alberta Children’s Hospital, more than once. What her mom and dad didn’t know then was how generous people in our community would play a critical role in saving both.
As second-time parents, Aliya and Sam were excited to experience the precious moments of baby life all over again when they welcomed their daughter, Ely, to the world: the warmth of a sleeping newborn in their arms, the sweet sounds of first giggles. Even the piercing squeal of a hungry newborn cry.
But when Ely was born, it was clear something was wrong. As she fought for air, suddenly, the only moments that mattered were the ones that would save her.
Doctors discovered a large mass in Ely’s nasal cavity that was making it nearly impossible for her to breathe. She urgently needed surgery to remove it — but as a newborn, she was far too small. In the meantime, to keep her alive and give her the time she needed to grow before they could safely operate, her surgeons performed a tracheostomy, placing a small tube in her windpipe so she could breathe. While grateful their baby was safe, caring for a baby with a trach was a daunting adjustment for Aliya and Sam.
– Aliyah, Ely's mom
‘People like you helped save Ely’s life and gave her a beautiful life to live’
We didn’t get to bring our daughter home for her first Christmas. Instead, our “home” was a room at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, where our tiny one-month-old was recovering from a life-saving tracheostomy and other critical procedures.
It wasn’t the holiday season — or the start to her life – we’d imagined, but thanks to our team of experts at the hospital, it filled our time there with more warmth, joy and love than we could have hoped for. They made sure we felt at home, even if we couldn’t actually be there. We learned that family isn’t just the people you’re related to — it’s anyone who loves and cares for you in your time of need.
In the weeks that followed, we felt the hospital team doing everything they could to get us home together. Thanks to the donor-funded KidSIM team, we had hands-on training that gave us the confidence we needed to care for Ely’s trach and prepared us in case an emergency happened. Because of that training, we didn’t have to stay in the hospital until her trach came out. Instead, we could bring our daughter home in March. That day, she felt the fresh outside air on her face for the very first time.
When the day came to remove her trach two months after her big surgery, our hospital family gathered to celebrate. Watching our little girl breathe on her own — and hearing her first little laugh was like music to all of our ears. She quickly discovered that when she made a sound, everyone reacted with joy. She hasn’t stopped talking and laughing since!
We now understand that our hospital family is so much bigger than we ever imagined — it also includes generous donors who support every part of the hospital and hold a very special place in our hearts.
People like you helped save Ely’s life and gave her a beautiful life to live.
Our little family is truly grateful.
— Aliya
Because of our supportive community who equipped specialists with advanced life-saving tools, Ely’s parents could breathe easier, too. When you support the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation with a gift, you ensure kids like Ely receive the best treatments when it matters most.
For Ely, that first day was just the beginning.
For the next four months, the Alberta Children’s Hospital was where Ely’s team did everything possible to help her grow stronger. There were still hurdles to overcome – several more operations, including surgery to relieve dangerous pressure within her brain and another to correct the placement of her feeding tube – all while preparing Aliya and Sam to care for Ely and the specialized breathing equipment keeping her alive.
During their time in hospital, they marked milestones and made memories within the hospital’s walls, even celebrating Ely’s first Christmas surrounded by the doctors and nurses who had become like family.
Thanks to the hospital’s KidSIM simulation program – made possible by community support – Aliya and Sam received hands-on training that transformed fear into confidence, making it possible for them to safely take Ely home for the very first time.
Playtime with toys. Bedtime stories. First birthday parties. Ely could enjoy every precious moment at home with her family because of supporters like you. Every child deserves more than survival — they deserve the chance to enjoy their childhoods to the fullest.
Your gift makes that possible.
Ely was growing stronger at home. Then, the day after she took her first steps, she woke up shaking uncontrollably. An ambulance rushed her back to the Alberta Children’s Hospital, where doctors determined she had meningitis – a serious infection in her brain caused by complications from the mass. Ely’s high-risk surgery could no longer wait.
As her team of surgeons prepared to operate within millimetres of Ely’s brain, Aliya and Sam couldn’t help but worry: Would their little girl be able to talk? Would she ever walk again?
Thanks to state-of-the-art, donor-funded surgical cameras and scopes, Ely’s team performed the delicate operation with remarkable precision and skillfully removed the obstruction. Just two months later, they also removed her trach.
For the first time in her life, Ely could breathe on her own and, finally, laugh out loud — a sound her parents had longed to hear.
Life-saving, life-changing moments like this happen every day at the Alberta Children’s Hospital because people like you care to give. At the Alberta Children’s Hospital, medical teams must be prepared to provide the best care to every child — from the most fragile newborn, like Ely, to the tallest, strongest teenager. Donor support makes this possible, providing the most advanced equipment, specialized programs to support families through their medical journeys and joyful moments that let kids be kids, even in hospital. Your generosity ensures that, together, we can do everything possible to give every child the chance to survive — and to grow, flourish and live their best life possible.
Today, Ely is a chatty, giggly five-year-old who loves to sing, draw and play with her big brother, Kaysan. She’s living proof that community investments like yours give children their lives back — and their childhoods, too.
“We can’t thank the donors and our team at the Alberta Children’s Hospital enough,” says Aliya. “They not only saved her life, they also gave her a beautiful life to live.”
You can be the reason a child’s life is not only saved but filled with every joy and opportunity they deserve.
Please give today so every child benefits from best care, the best tools and every chance to live a life full of possibilities.
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