When Sarah Coopsie and Mike Christians were at Victoria General Hospital with their daughter Violet, they spent a lot of time peering out of windows. Violet was born with several congenital heart defects, and could not spend much time outside. It was summertime, and they frequently saw butterflies through the glass.
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檇 look out the window and one would flutter by or youB次元官网网址檇 be driving and one would flutter by again, and they were just, everybody saw themB次元官网网址hey kind of made us feel like she was present,B次元官网网址� said Coopsie.
The significance is not lost on VioletB次元官网网址檚 three-year old cousin, Ayla, who was running around her home in Saanichton on a Saturday morning, undeterred by a cold.
B次元官网网址淎yla sees them as well, even now, sheB次元官网网址檒l see one and say, B次元官网网址榖aby Bats is here.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Her mother, Angela Thorneloe, explained that Ayla could not say B次元官网网址淰ioletB次元官网网址� earlier this year, so thatB次元官网网址檚 what she calls her.
Violet died on July 1, 2017, and when trying to help Ayla process this loss, Thorneloe decided it was a good opportunity to raise money for a new rocking chair so families at Victoria General HospitalB次元官网网址檚 Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) would have a better place to sit. A card featuring a butterfly painting by Ayla is being sold on Etsy to raise $3,000 for a special, hospital-grade chair B次元官网网址� in purple, naturally.
They have already sold 100 cards, and after they sell the next batch of 150, they should have the money they need.
B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檚 only three-and-a-half now,B次元官网网址� said Thorneloe, B次元官网网址渂ut one day it will meaningful to her that she took part in leaving a legacy at the hospital in her cousinB次元官网网址檚 name, so we decided to make the cards.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just something that weB次元官网网址檙e very proud of Ange and Ayla for doing B次元官网网址� for having a charitable mind, making sure itB次元官网网址檚 there for those long-term stays,B次元官网网址� said Christians.
The couple were informed about VioletB次元官网网址檚 heart defect before she was born, so they spent the last weeks of pregnancy at Ronald McDonald House to be closer to B.C. ChildrenB次元官网网址檚 Hospital. After her birth, doctors found several heart defects and an interstitial lung disease which interfered with oxygen exchange. Just after three months, doctors diagnosed Violet with Kabuki syndrome, which explained the combination of problems that Violet had.
The family flew between BC ChildrenB次元官网网址檚 Hospital and Victoria General Hospital B次元官网网址渜uite a bit,B次元官网网址� said Coopsie.
B次元官网网址淚 guess you could characterize it as hard,B次元官网网址� said Christians, B次元官网网址渂ut at the same time, easy, because itB次元官网网址檚 our kid.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 say we were in survival mode,B次元官网网址� said Coopsie, B次元官网网址渂ut we just did it because thatB次元官网网址檚 what needed to be done. There was no questions asked. We just loved her to pieces; thatB次元官网网址檚 what you did.B次元官网网址�
The couple would spend all day at the hospital, other family members would relieve them in the evening and nurses would take over in the wee hours. All this time made Thorneloe notice that the chairs in the PICU were not very comfortable, so the idea of the rocking chair came to be.
Although Violet had a short life, her parents are thankful that they got to spend every waking moment with their daughter, who said she was an B次元官网网址渙ld soulB次元官网网址� with big, beautiful eyes who always wanted to be held.
They praised the staff at the PICU, who they called B次元官网网址渂asically family.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚 remember in the beginning when we started spending time there, we were pretty hesitant to leave Violet alone there at night; we always wanted to be around. And we came to realize that they basically loved her as much as we did. ThatB次元官网网址檚 how it sort of felt,B次元官网网址� said Christians.
And so, after asking nurses and the Victoria Hospital Foundation, they agreed that a new chair would be a welcome addition to the space.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檒l know always that the purple chair is the one thatB次元官网网址檚 for Violet,B次元官网网址� said Thorneloe.
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