2X the Impact for Kids Like Barty

Barty and his twin sister Wren were born in Red Deer. While Wren arrived safely, Barty was in trouble and had to be delivered via emergency C-section. He was born blue. His brain had been deprived of oxygen and was at risk of serious damage.

Doctors were able to stabilize Barty, but they knew he needed experts at the Alberta Children’s Hospital.

“I remember saying we needed to name him first,” says Barty’s mom Chelsea. “We chose Scott for a middle name, after Blaine’s brother who passed away. We thought Barty should have a guardian angel when he went to the Alberta Children’s Hospital.”

As Barty was safely and swiftly transported by ambulance to Calgary, his dad Blaine followed by car.

Chelsea stayed behind in recovery with Wren, anxiously awaiting news. Soon Blaine began sending her heart-wrenching photos of her tiny boy surrounded by wires and machines in the Edwards Neonatal Intensive Care Unit — or NICU.

Nearly one in three babies admitted to intensive care units at the Alberta Children’s Hospital faces a life-threatening condition that could cause permanent injury and impact their future.

Thankfully, Barty’s team of neonatologists had the knowledge, tools and specialized equipment they needed to protect his brain — resources made possible through the generosity of donors.

Community support ensures hospital specialists are ready to save a child’s life and quality of life.  And right now, you can make twice the life-saving impact for families like Barty’s thanks to Keith and Sharon Boonstra who are matching donations in response to Barty’s story up to a total of $100,000 until June 30.

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Using therapeutic cooling, doctors wrapped Barty in a hi-tech “blanket” designed to lower his core temperature and reduce damage to his brain. The sooner cooling begins, the better chance a baby has of surviving and growing up healthy.

For the next 72 hours, Barty’s brain was placed in a hibernation-like state while his care team closely monitored its activity using EEG technology.

On day three, after braving a snowstorm that closed the QE II, Chelsea and Wren finally made it to Calgary. As Chelsea reached Barty’s side in the NICU and he heard his mother’s voice, he opened his eyes for the very first time. Seven long days later, MRI results showed no significant signs of brain damage. With enormous relief, Chelsea and Blaine took their two precious babies home.

For specialists caring for these critically ill babies at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, one brain injury—or one loss—is too many. That’s why they work tirelessly, learning from every baby they treat and improving treatments that are used here and shared with NICUs around the world.

The same team who saved Barty’s life is leading advances in treatment for newborns across Canada and beyond. Today, more babies at the Alberta Children’s Hospital are surviving oxygen deprivation at birth than ever before. Deaths and disabilities have been significantly reduced and the need for anti-seizure medications has decreased by 50 percent. This progress is only possible because of generous community support.

“It turns out, Barty had more people watching out for him than we thought,” says Chelsea.

Today, Barty is living his best life on his family’s farm—playing in the dirt and chasing chickens, cows and other barnyard friends. He is too little to remember how specialists at the Alberta Children’s Hospital saved his life and made the childhood he enjoys today possible—or understand the crucial role supporters like you play in stories like his.

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Seeing him today, running around in his cowboy boots as a happy little farmer, his future looks bright.

“We owe it all to his other guardian angels who were watching over him – his brilliant medical teams and people who support the hospital with donations. Because of them we have our little boy, and he has a big, beautiful life ahead of him,” says Chelsea.

With your help, our hospital experts can continue advancing the innovative care needed to help more children like Barty survive even the most serious illnesses and injuries and give them every chance to grow up healthy and strong—with childhoods full of wonder and futures full of possibility.

And if you donate before June 30, your donation will be doubled, thanks to Keith and Sharon Boonstra who are generously matching gifts in response to Barty’s story up to a total of $100,000.