Our stories

Sasha goes back to school

While six year old Sasha, with her confident grin, may look like your average first grader ready to take on the world, what you can’t tell is that she’s faced a lot of uncertainty in her life and fought hard to get to this moment.

Diagnosed at CHEO with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia at just four years old, Sasha spent many weeks at a time in isolation. When she wasn’t admitted in hospital, she had to be careful being out in public and would wear a mask. She could only play at empty parks and with family...

Our commitment to care

One of our key goals at CHEO is to make sure the voices of children, youth and families guide the care we provide and the future of our organization. We call this being Partners in Health.

When any partner — including a child or youth — has a suggestion for making things better, we listen. It’s a priority for us. When we are changing how we do things, we ask families for input. It can be answering a survey, serving on a committee or even working directly with us to develop a new way of doing something....

CHEO asked and you answered: fun ideas for self-care

To celebrate International Self Care Day on July 24, we asked our Instagram followers how they practice self-care! Self-care can be anything that helps your mental, emotional or physical health. It’s always important to take care of yourself, especially when you’re busy at work or school, dealing with stressful life situations or feeling down.

We received lots of great feedback. Here’s a snapshot of some things people do, and we want to share these ideas with you in case it inspires you.

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Dylan hears his mom

Sarah thought her youngest son Dylan was just quiet and reserved. He wasn’t a boy of many words.

When he was four and about to go into JK, Sarah, wanting to set him up for success, took him to a speech language therapist. The therapist suspected something, which triggered a referral to CHEO for a hearing test.

What they discovered blew Sarah away.

She had no idea Dylan was significantly hearing impaired. He had passed his infant hearing screening test. He had always been around people – his three...

A door for better care, simplicity and community

Whenever Abby MacMillan falls asleep, she stops breathing.

Imagine.

It’s why she was first admitted to CHEO’s ICU when she was five hours old.

It’s why for the next 18 years she and her family have returned to CHEO many, many times.

Abby’s mom, Teresa, never thought a door would improve things for her eldest daughter. In fact, doors and separation create anxiety. For Abby’s first months they slept side by side and to this day they still sleep with their doors open. “We need to be able to see, hear...