Hello,

I’d like to share my little sister Éricka’s story, which is also a little bit of our family’ story. At the age of only 5 years old, my sister began suffering from terrible headaches that persisted and worsened by the day. She saw an unimaginable number of doctors and spent a lot of time in emergency rooms trying to find out what was causing them. The only diagnosis that was ever obtained was migraines.

Not fully believing this could be the cause of my sister’s pain, and following her mother’s instinct, my mom took Éricka to the Montreal Children's Hospital’s Emergency Department in December 2003. Thanks to the staff’s expertise and their taking my sister’s situation to heart, we were able to confirm a diagnosis in a matter of hours. The news was shattering, like a bomb had exploded: my sister had a my sister had a brain tumor the size of an egg, causing hydrocephalus (a buildup of fluid in the brain). Doctors estimated she would only survive 12 more hours if they did not operate quickly. Her operation lasted nine and a half hours, and we didn’t know what kind of state she would in afterwards.

Believe it or not, thanks to my sister’s wonderful neurosurgeon as well as to the extraordinary team, she emerged from her operation with no serious damage to the rest of her brain. The staff at the Montreal Children's Hospital are real miracle workers! We will never be able to adequately thank them for how they cared for her as a child throughout her hospitalization and during each of her follow-up visits.brain tumor the size of an egg, causing hydrocephalus (a buildup of fluid in the brain). Doctors estimated she would only survive 12 more hours if they did not operate quickly. Her operation lasted nine and a half hours, and we didn’t know what kind of state she would in afterwards.

Unfortunately, 12 years later, just when we thought the worst was over, we learned about the development of a new tumor in her brain. We will be starting over with another long operation and a round of new treatments, but we’re not worried because we know that Éricka’s health is in the hands of the best specialists in the world. She completely trusts her surgeon, who has taken the time to explain everything to her, and we are extremely grateful.

Keep up the great work you do with children, you’re making a real difference in the world.

- Éricka’s big sister, Mahéva