Inspired by Ainsley's amazing story, Montreal's business community comes together to raise $657,885 at the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation Golf Tournament Français
Proceeds will go to the new McGill-MCH chair in pediatric surgery.
MONTREAL, Sept. 12, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Inspired by young Ainsley, who had part of her brain removed to save her life, Montreal's business community showed their support once again for excellence in care at the Children's by raising $657,885 at the 21st edition of the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation Golf Tournament at the Royal Montreal Golf Club.
This year's edition paid tribute to the late Bruce Williams, surgeon, researcher and outstanding teacher, who was at the forefront of revolutionary changes in children's healthcare throughout his long and distinguished career at the Children's. Proceeds will go toward the creation of a $ 4-million endowed chair in pediatric surgery.
Mark Pathy, chair of the organizing committee, explains the goal of the tournament: "This annual event aims to raise funds to attract and retain talented healthcare professionals at the Children's, a vision shared by the tournament's founders, Dr. Bruce Williams and Hugh Hallward, who chose to invest in talent in a time when event organizers were raising funds to buy equipment. We're grateful to Dr. Williams for his incredible leadership, demonstrated by McGill's outstanding national reputation in pediatric surgery."
The Chair in pediatric surgery will allow the Children's to remain a leader in its field by offering quality patient and family-centered pediatric surgical care while remaining at the cutting edge of all levels of surgical training and in retaining top talent.
Ainsley: a story that touches us all
The golfers were touched when they learned about Ainsley, who was a patient of the Children's surgeon-in-chief, Dr. Jean-Pierre Farmer. Ainsley and her mother Jocelyn were present to talk about the expert care their received. Jocelyn explains: "We were presented with the painful option of removing half of Ainsley's brain to stop her from having the epileptic seizures that were slowly killing her. The surgery would leave one side of her body paralyzed, with no guarantee she'd ever regain mobility. It was the hardest decision we've ever had to make. We gave the green light because we knew that we could count on the exceptional doctors, who were all in favour of the procedure, and that the surgery would be performed by a top surgeon. Our child was suffering, and we had an opportunity to do something about it. Now, our 9-year-old girl goes to school, can walk, and is happy."
The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation's Interim President, Katrin Nakashima, would like to thank Dr. William's family, Golf Tournament organizing committee president Mark Pathy, along with the employees and volunteers who make up the organizing committee, for their continued efforts. She also thanks the business community for their commitment over the past 21 years, most notably RBC, the Golf Tournament's lead partner. "Year after year, these people come together and demonstrate their support and commitment. Since the first edition in 1997, countless projects have materialized thanks to the efforts of the committee, volunteers, golfers, sponsors, donors and raffle participants, who continue to support our noble cause," she explains.
ABOUT THE MONTREAL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
The mission of the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation is to support excellence in patient care, teaching, and research at the Montreal Children's Hospital, the pediatric teaching hospital for McGill University's Faculty of Medicine. Since its inception in 1973, the Foundation has raised almost $340 million, which has been used to transform the lives of sick children through cutting-edge research and teaching projects, and quality care. The Foundation's Best Care for Children campaign raised $105 million to help build the new Montreal Children's Hospital on the Glen site. For more information, please visit childrenfoundation.com.
SOURCE The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation
Séverine Defouni, Director of Communications, The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation, Phone: 514 934-4846, [email protected]
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