Ely loves to sing and dance. It’s hard to believe there was a time when her parents couldn’t hear her laugh.

And as the 2025 Champion for the Alberta Children’s Hospital, part of the Children’s Miracle Network Champions program, she will help celebrate life-saving, life-changing care our hospital and support from our community makes possible for kids like her.

Ely was born with a basal encephalocele, an obstructive mass of tissue and fluid in her nasal cavity that was making it difficult for her to breathe. At just six days old, she was admitted to the Edwards Family Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Alberta Children’s Hospital.  

Due to her fragile size and state, surgery to remove the mass would need to wait until Ely was bigger and stronger. However, she would need intervention to help her breathe. So, at 29 days old, she received a tracheostomy.

“The hardest part of your child having a trach is that it takes her voice away,” says her mom Aliya. “Her cry was silent, and we never heard her laugh.”

Because a tracheostomy requires 24/7 surveillance and care, her parents were grateful the Alberta Children’s Hospital is home to KidSIM, a world-class pediatric simulation lab made possible by community support, where they could participate in training on how to manage Ely’s trach at home.

“There’s nothing like being home, where Ely could meet family, play with her brother, and go for walks outside. She had never even been outside or breathed fresh air before,” says Aliya. “KidSIM gave her the opportunity to live her life and gave us the chance to be together as a family.”

Ely has also had several surgeries, including the placement and removal of a shunt required to treat a cyst on top of her brain. And then at 15 months old, she developed meningitis – a byproduct of the mass in her nose.  Her team of neurosurgeons and ENT surgeons decided the surgery planned years down the road could not longer wait. In two separate operations, her surgical team successfully removed the mass with the help of donor-funded technology called an endoscope, an illuminated surgical probe that allowed them the clearest view to perform minimally-invasive surgery. At 18 months old, Ely’s tracheostomy tube itself was also removed for good.

“The first time we heard her laugh was in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit after her trach was out, and it was the most beautiful sound. Since then, she’s been chatting up a storm!” says Aliya. “Today, she is healthy, happy, and thriving and has a bright future, because of her team of experts who cared for her. They not only saved her life, but they gave her a life to live.”

As Champion, Ely will be the official ambassador for the Alberta Children’s Hospital and represent the 100,000 kids cared for at the hospital each year.

“Ely charms everyone around her with her warm and lively personality, and we are thrilled to announce her as our Champion this year,” says Saifa Koonar, President and CEO of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation. “Her inspirational story is an example of the remarkable impact our generous community has on life-saving care, family-centred care, and innovation taking place at the Alberta Children’s Hospital every day.”