Despite living through their own tragedy, a Cochrane family continues to advocate for others while raising awareness about children's heart disease.

For Greg and Jaime Sawchuk, helping others is not only helping them heal, but it also honours the life of their son Vaughn, who sadly lost his battle from a heart defect at 28 days old.

With February being recognized as Heart Month, the Sawchuk's have created a special fundraising endeavour called 'Have A Heart', which supports other heart warriors, like Vaughn, attend a medically supervised summer camp known as Heart Heroes Camp.

A picture from camp. (Photo Courtesy: Manuela Stefan)

Started back in 2017, Dr. Devin Chetan, Founder of the Camp, says thanks to public support they have been able to offer both an overnight camp experience for ages 8 to 14 and a day camp for ages 4 to 7. "All of our camp programs are designed for kids who are born or who have more significant forms of acquired heart disease. The reason why we developed the program was that we realized that by working with the families that these kids don't often have the same opportunities other kids have because of their medical condition. There's not a lot of community or other types of recreational programs where these kids can go to have similar experiences in comparison to kids who don't have medical conditions." 

With Vaughn having both an older and younger sibling, the Sawchuk's see the importance of helping these warriors attend a camp where they can experience a great time outdoors with other kids just like them. "There are camps all over the place, but this is a special camp in that sense. These kids often haven't had much time on their own especially outside of the hospital walls where their days can be filled with appointments and check-ups, so it is really a chance for them to be kids and do amazing activities like zip lining, swimming, and canoeing."

With the camp being medically supervised, the nurses, therapists, and physicians hang up their stethoscopes and become camp counsellors to ensure all campers have fun over the weekend. With 21 volunteers in 2017 and 25 in 2018, Dr. Chetan shares most of the medical professional volunteers come from the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton.

With the Stollery being the specialized centre for pediatric cardiac care in Western Canada, the camp has seen campers as far away as Manitoba be able to attend. "That is just because the catchment area that the hospital serves and if your child has access for care at the Stollery for one reason or another then your child is welcome to apply and come to camp. We're pretty proud of the fact that we can offer that access and to have some kids come from farther places."

(Photo Courtesy: Manuela Stefan)

It is estimated that one out of one hundred children are born with heart disease, making it more prevalent than some people realize, says Dr. Chetan. "Of course, not all of these kids are ones that will need things that we provide (at the Stollery), but it is more frequent than people realize at times."

In a way to bolster their fundraising efforts, the Sawchuks are creating their own 'robotic hearts,' as unique as the warriors they have met along the way, and gifting them to campers and donors. "We are calling it 'Have a Heart,' and if you make a $50 donation, all funds from this or the purchase of any robotic heart sold in the future will go to the camp. We thought we would kick off heart month by offering a $50 donation to help support the kids at camp, and they will get a robot heart and so will you."

Despite going through their own journey with grief and loss, the Sawchuk's have raised an amazing $35,000 through the Vaughn Sawchuk Foundation over the past three years, in support of other families affected by heart disease. "It has been a really difficult road, and it continues to be, but I am trying to show my kids that we can always find the positive...a light in the dark. While some days it is easier to do than others, I want them to see that loss doesn't always have to be surrounded by so much pain and we can do something good and make something good out of this."

Hoping to sell at least ten hearts this month, the Sawchuk family is grateful for any donations. "We were outsourcing them before, but now we have outsourced our own printer and are actually making them and putting them together ourselves. Every dollar counts for their time there, and I just wanted to create something specifically for the camp."

In 2017, Heart Heroes Camp provided an incredible camp experience for 17 kids and 31 in 2018, plus an additional 11 campers at the mini day camp. "We try and take as many kids as we possibly can with it coming down to how many kids apply, how many volunteers we can get, and what the facility can accommodate."

Camp fees are covered for qualifying applicants thanks to a variety of generous partnerships, like the one struck with the Sawchuk family.

For more information on the Heart Heroes Camp click on the link http://littleheartheroes.ca. If you would like to show your heart in support of the Sawchuk's endeavour, email vaughnsawchukfoundation@gmail.com and check out their promotional video HERE.

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52 Stories: Jaime Sawchuk