My Writing Journey

Having a heart defect has impacted my life so much and has really helped me figure out who I am. When I was young, I really wanted to join sports like hockey. However, I always got too scared to join anything due to my heart condition because I was worried that something would happen. Little things like that would cause my younger self to be anxious, and at the time, I didn’t know anyone who had heart conditions similar to mine. For a long time, I thought I was the only one with this weird scar in the middle of my chest. I didn’t have anyone around me who felt the same way, and so I never joined anything. I’m so glad I didn’t because then I wouldn’t have found my true passion and interests; writing and other creative hobbies.

 

Figuring out my passions has been such a fulfilling journey to me. It all started with writing stories when I was in the second grade. It became a lot of fun for me to create these stories about my friends and I, as well as drawing pictures to go along with the story. I wrote one of my most favorite stories at the beginning of fourth grade. This book inspired me to become a writer and figure out exactly who I am, and showed me that I could use writing as a form of therapy to express how I feel or what I’ve been through. This book was titled “September Boy”.

 

I became inspired to start writing stories in a new and different way than what books are usually written like. I started writing “Choose Your Own Adventure” stories. I started using this approach for all my stories to make reading interesting and more fun since I started noticing that people felt like reading was boring. Another unique thing I started doing was writing my stories like a TV show. I started calling my chapters “Episodes” and each book was a Season. This helped me keep my stories at a length that was easy to manage and able to be stapled together. Each Episode/Chapter had a length of around 10-30ish pages. I would have around 3-5 Episodes/Chapters for each Season.

 

In 2018, I started to become less interested in writing after going through a really rough time. My stories became unfinished and the quality just wasn’t what it used to be so I stopped writing for a while. I knew that I needed to write because it was my therapy and something that made me happy. I knew I needed to find a new way of writing that could help me get through what I was going through. That’s when music and songwriting came into my life.

 

Music has always been a part of my life. It’s inspired my stories and has allowed me to really understand how I feel. Writing songs allowed me to write with more than one meaning, expressing how I truly felt and things I’ve gone through without directly telling people. I have created and released two full length albums with thirteen songs on each, 2 Extended Plays (EP) and a single.

 

Whenever I wrote a song, I could envision a whole music video. So I became interested in Filmmaking and Photography. I came up with ideas to create a whole musical film to go along with the music. During COVID, I made a full length documentary film and a few music videos for my second album. With photography, I created and shot my own album covers, promotional pictures. Not only did I use photography for my music, but I also started to create official covers for all my books since their covers were hand drawn.

 

I’ve been returning to writing books recently – rewriting them, creating new covers, and uploading them online to free reading websites/apps such as Wattpad, Inkitt, and Sweek.

 

For the future and what I’m working towards, I’m thinking of starting a career in music and writing, and releasing books. I’m excited for what’s to come as I have so many ideas and stories I want to tell in every form of art. I’m taking it one step at a time, however, my hope for the future is to become an Author, Musician, Filmmaker/Director, a Photographer, as well as sharing my stories, creativity, and helping people through my art.

The Impact of CHAMPS Camp

I attended the first CHAMPS Camp in 2015 and have been going every year since. It was an experience I won’t ever forget. When I first went, I was excited and quite nervous. Excited to finally meet people who were just like me but scared because I didn’t really know what to expect. However, I had the best time and I’ve learnt so many things. One of the things I learned being there and probably the one I will always remember, is that just because I have a heart condition, doesn’t mean that I can’t do something. The activities we did made me feel more fearless and doing them with other people like me was so amazing. I became good friends with a girl who had the same heart defect as me and it was such a special moment. Being able to relate to each other made me feel so seen.

 

This camp showed me that I can do anything I want without having to worry about my heart.  While playing sports at camp has helped me overcome my fear, my interests have shifted and I am no longer interested in hockey. I find it so hard to find the words to explain how much this camp means to me as it has helped me become the person I am today. Now that I’ve graduated from CHAMPS, I’m excited to come back as a counselor and continue to be a part of this amazing organization.

Learn more about Brayden and his creative works:

@elliotparkermusic

@storytellbooks

https://www.wattpad.com/user/storytellbooks

https://www.inkitt.com/storytell_books7

Statement from Pediatric Cardiology @ JPCH

After careful review of the available evidence and in discussion with our Pediatric Cardiology and Pediatric Infectious Disease colleagues across Western Canada regarding the Moderna  COVID-19 vaccine recently approved by Health Canada for children ages 6 months to 5 years old, we have come to the following recommendations that are in alignment with the Health Canada National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommendations.

We recommend that a complete series with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine (pediatric 25 mcg dose) may be offered to children 6 months to 5 years of age who do not have contraindications to the vaccine, with a dosing interval of at least 8 weeks between first and second dose. 

 

There are no patients with congenital heart disease who are contraindicated to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The only Pediatric Cardiology patients who should further discuss getting the vaccine with our team are patients with a previous history of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) or heart transplantation. 

Some parents, families and/or care-givers have already been asking us the following questions:

What about the Pfizer vaccine for this age group?

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has not yet been approved by Health Canada for the 6 months to 5 year Pediatric population. They have submitted their application and it remains under review. The study details of this vaccine has not yet been made available for review to us but we will review this once made available.

What is the risk of myocarditis with the COVID-19 vaccine? 

In patients who are 12 years old or older who have received the COVID-19 vaccine, there is a rare (1 in 10,000) side effect of myocarditis. However, children are more likely to get sicker with COVID-19 infection, which can also cause myocarditis and a serious multi-organ inflammatory response in children. Luckily the vast majority of the children who have developed myocarditis after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine have had mild cases, have not required hospitalization and have shown complete recovery with little treatment needed. So far the experience with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in children 5-11 years old and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 6 months to 5 years of age in the USA has shown a lower rate of myocarditis secondary to the COVID-19 vaccine than in children 12 years old and older.

When should my child (aged 5 years or older) have their third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine? 

Health Canada has recently approved children aged 5 years and older to receive their first booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer). Any patients who received their initial vaccinations six months ago or more are eligible. In the upcoming weeks we expect Saskatchewan will be making immunization appointments available for these patients.

What side effects should I worry about after my child has their COVID-19 vaccine? 

Mild side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine are common and expected for both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. These include arm pain, redness at the injection site, swelling at the injection site and fever and they can be managed at home. If children develop any symptoms of myocarditis including chest pain, shortness of breath or palpitations, you should seek further medical attention.

Can my child have other vaccines before or after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine? 

It is recommended that children getting the COVID-19 vaccine should not get any other routine childhood vaccines for at least 14 days before and 14 days after their COVID-19 vaccine doses. This is a precaution to help determine if any side effects that may arise are due to the COVID-19 vaccine or the other vaccine.

My family has had a COVID-19 infection. When can we get immunized?

For children 6 months to 5 years of age previously infected with COVID-19, NACI suggests an 8 week interval between infection and initiation or completion of a COVID-19 primary series, (even if asymptomatic but testing positive).

If you would like to read more information about the NACI recommendations we recommend the following link:

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/immunization/national-advisory-committee-on-immunization-naci/recommendations-use-moderna-spikevax-covid-19-vaccine-children-6-months-5-years.pdf

We will continue to monitor evidence and information as it becomes available about the COVID-19 vaccine and keep you updated. View our previous vaccine & COVID-19 updates HERE.

We are here to support you in the decision making process, so that you can make an informed decision about COVID-19 vaccination for your family. So, if we can help answer any further questions, please feel free to contact us (306) 844-1235.

Your Pediatric Cardiology Team (Drs. Pockett, Pharis, and Bradley)

CHAMPS WINS WCCHN AWARD!

Our team has been hard at work over the past 6 months working on our new project – the CHAMPS Camp Model!

CHAMPS was awarded “Judge’s Choice” at the Western Canadian Children’s Heart Network Boost-Up Pitch Competition in February. The competition was designed to fund various projects supporting heart children across Western Canada.

Fund will be used to create the CHAMPS Camp Model – a project to help us expand CHAMPS to more sites across Saskatchewan & Western Canada!

We are so incredibly excited and honoured to receive this award, and we couldn’t have done it without your support. Congratulations to the other award winners and teams who presented at the competition!! The future is bright for heart kids in Western Canada.

Stay tuned for more updates on this project!

CHAMPS CAMP IS BACK

Finally! CHAMPS Summer Camp will be in person this July after 2 years of virtual events. We are so excited to see our campers!

CHAMPS provides an opportunity to meet kids with similar conditions and form a peer group, while learning about physical activity, mental wellness and heart health in a fun way!

Camp will be July 11-15, 2022 at the University of Saskatchewan Physical Activity Complex. Click HERE to join the waitlist for our 7-17 year old camp, or to register for our Junior camp for campers 4-6 years.

Safety is our top priority. With advice from our Pediatric Cardiology team, we will have recommendations and guidelines in place to ensure families are safe at camp.

Thank you to our sponsors and donors who help make camp possible. Interested in helping a heart child attend camp at NO COST?

Send us a message if you’re interested in directing your donation to:

❤️  Send a heart hero to camp

❤️  Sponsor a camp lunch

❤️  Sponsor a camp activity or education session

Thank you for your support!

Fuel for heart healthy activities!

When it comes to healthy eating and fueling our heart, regular movement and activity helps to improve our mood, energy level, and overall wellbeing. While walking to school and gym class are some ways for children to include movement into their day to day, many children need extra activity to meet the Canadian activity recommendations. CHAMPS Camp provides a place for heart kids to be more active in a safe, comfortable environment. Activity at CHAMPS helps to build a stronger heart, muscle strength, improve bone health, and provides opportunities  to spend time with other heart kids!

How much activity does my child need?

The 24-Hour Movement Guidelines developed by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology gives recommendations for daily activity and movement for children from infancy to youth (and adults too!). Take a moment to reflect on your family’s physical activity – are you meeting the recommended activity levels? When in doubt – the more activity the better. How can your family include more movement into your day?

At CHAMPS Camp we use the movement guidelines, as well as research to guide our programming. Learn more about our CHAMPS research HERE. For more information about activity guidelines for specific heart conditions, we recommend this article: CHD specific activity guidelines.

Food is fuel for activity

With physical activity or sports, snacks are important to include before and after activities to provide fuel and energy for your child’s movement and to help their bodies recover after activities.

Before activities, fuel up on foods that are rich in carbohydrates to give a boost of energy during activity. Make sure to also include a protein source. Foods that are higher in fat and fibre should be limited to help prevent stomach discomfort or stomach upset during activity. Eating a snack 1-2 hours before an activity can also help reduce stomach upsets and allow for time for digestion.

Snack ideas to try before activities:

o   Sandwich prepared with whole wheat bread and with a source of protein such as turkey, chicken, egg, or tuna

o   Fruit of your choice paired with low fat cheese (cheese slices or string cheese are great options)

o   Greek yogurt with fruit

o   Muffin with nut butter spread

After physical activity, enjoy a protein rich snack to help the body recover and re-energize. Remember to drink plenty of water to help rehydrate after physical activity.

Snack idea to try after activities:

o   Apple slices and nut butter

o   Yogurt parfait with granola or nuts

o   Hummus and crackers or pita bread

o   Banana and a glass of milk

o   Trail mix, granola bars, or energy bites

o   Smoothie with added protein (try Greek yogurt, nut butter, or tofu)

Have questions or need more support? Contact us to learn more!

All information provided by Kellie Guan, RD, Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital.

CHAMPS 6 Month Exercise & Mental Wellness Study

The Mending Little Hearts Team was thrilled to be awarded funding from the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) & the Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research (SCPOR) for our next CHAMPS study. We were honoured to be awarded the top research grant for this project at the SHRF Sante Excellence Awards in 2020.

Building on the momentum from our 2018 study, our team has developed a 6 Month Exercise & Mental Wellness program for children with congential heart disease. The 6-month program includes weekly virtual camps, as well as home-based exercise to help promote physical activity, heart health and psychological well-being.

Goals for this study are:

1. 1. Look at the impact of a 6-month patient-centered program for children with CHD
   2. Test the feasibility of a longer-term program
   3. Measure physical, psychological, and behavioural impacts in children with CHD compared to those not participating in CHAMPS, and to healthy children.
   4. Look at the impact of the 6-month program on short- and long-term physical activity levels

Dr. Marta Erlandson is an Assistant Professor, and part of our Mending Little Hearts Research team. She was recently featured in an article highlighting the importance of research for children with CHD. CLICK HERE to learn how CHAMPS is leading the way in this field!

Our team is devoted to patient-oriented research to help create an permanent, evidence-based CHAMPS program for children with CHD in Saskatchewan and across Canada. Thank you to those who have already volunteered to participate. Your participation directly influences the programs and resources available to your heart kids in Saskatchewan!

Do you have a heart child who would benefit from CHAMPS Camp? Want to help improve our program? Contact us to participate!

Statement from Pediatric Cardiology @ JPCH

After careful review of the available evidence and in discussion with our Pediatric Cardiology and Pediatric Infectious Disease colleagues across Western Canada regarding the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 years old, we have come to the following recommendations that are in alignment with the Health Canada National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommendations.

We recommend that a complete series with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (10 mcg) may be offered to children 5-11 years of age who do not have contraindications to the vaccine, with a dosing interval of at least 8 weeks between first and second dose.

There are no patients with congenital heart disease who are contraindicated to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The only Pediatric Cardiology patients who should further discuss getting the vaccine with our team are patients with a previous history of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) or heart transplantation.

Some parents, families and/or care-givers have already been asking us the following questions:

What is the risk of myocarditis with the COVID-19 vaccine?

In patients who are 12 years old or older who have received the COVID-19 vaccine, there is a rare (1 in 10,000) side effect of myocarditis. However, children are more likely to get sicker with COVID-19 infection, which can also cause myocarditis and a serious multi-organ inflammatory response in children. Luckily the vast majority of the children who have developed myocarditis after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine have had mild cases, have not required hospitalization and have shown complete recovery with little treatment needed. So far the experience with this Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in children 5-11 years old in the USA has shown a lower rate of myocarditis secondary to the COVID-19 vaccine than in children 12 years old and older.

When should my child have their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine?

The studies that Pfizer performed and submitted to get Health Canada approval in children 5-11 years of age administered the first and second doses of vaccine three weeks apart. However, there is new evidence suggesting that administering the first and second doses 8 weeks apart at any age, offers better immune response and longer immunity to COVID-19. So, we and the NACI, are recommending your child get their second dose after 8 weeks.

What side effects should I worry about after my child has their COVID-19 vaccine?

Mild side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine are common and expected. These include arm pain, redness at the injection site, swelling at the injection site and fever and they can be managed at home. If children develop any symptoms of myocarditis including chest pain, shortness of breath or palpitations, you should seek further medical attention.

Can my child have other vaccines before or after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine?

It is recommended that children getting the COVID-19 vaccine should not get any other routine childhood vaccines for at least 14 days before and 14 days after their COVID-19 vaccine doses. This is a precaution to help determine if any side effects that may arise are due to the COVID-19 vaccine or the other vaccine.

If you would like to read more information about the NACI recommendations we recommend the following link:  

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/immunization/national-advisory-committee-on-immunization-naci/recommendations-use-covid-19-vaccines/pfizer-biontech-10-mcg-children-5-11-years-age/pfizer-biontech-10-mcg-children-5-11-years-age.pdf

We will continue to monitor evidence and information as it becomes available about the COVID-19 vaccine and keep you updated.

We are here to support you in the decision making process, so that you can make an informed decision about COVID-19 vaccination for your family. So, if we can help answer any further questions, please feel free to contact us (306) 844-1235.

Your Pediatric Cardiology Team (Drs. Pockett, Pharis, Bradley and Sekhon)