The causes we hold close to our hearts reflect who we are as individuals and what we truly value. They also reflect important parts of our life journey.

For me and my family, North York General has always played a central role in our health care. It’s the site of our most joyous occasion — the birth of our son, Carter. It’s also where we go to get treated for illnesses and injuries. As a mom of a 13-year-old boy who loves to play sports, injuries happen!

Each year for the last 13 years, we’ve donated to North York General – to give back and say thanks for the exceptional care we receive. Recently, we decided to leave a lasting legacy for our community through a planned gift to our community hospital. We did this by including North York General in our will. Here’s why we did it …

Fourteen years ago, before Carter, Kevin and I thought getting pregnant would be an uphill battle due to a pre-existing condition. So, when we found out I was pregnant, we felt truly blessed. Everything progressed perfectly, with the exception of morning sickness, and on the day of my delivery, we found ourselves at North York General. I laboured for a long time – too long if you ask me! But labour wasn’t progressing, and I was moved into the operating room for a C-section. That’s when things took a turn.

I remember hearing Kevin say “Carter,” and at that moment, I knew we had a little boy. We had picked names for both genders. Then everything went dark.

I remember waking up the next day in the intensive care unit (ICU) not knowing what happened to my baby, not knowing what happened to me. It was terrifying. The ICU staff quickly reassured me that baby Carter was just fine. I was beyond relieved. I learned that I had suffered a fluke seizure that incapacitated me. I remained in the ICU for many days, recovering and undergoing a series of tests to determine what happened. To this day, there are no clear answers, but the seizure may have resulted from a rare and complex drug interaction.