Category Archives: CHEO

13Jun/15

Persistence Pays

Brave, CHEO, empowerment, help, moving, , , ,

persistence pays! Keep going no matter what!

Persistence, how does that relate to the topic this month of ‘get moving’?  Well, in one respect it does not.  And yet I believe it does as well.

On June 7, 2015 I had a dream come true.  And it took persistence and continual movement forward for it to come true.  The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario  (CHEO) had their annual telethon.  And I went back to the hospital to share some hope and inspiration.  As well as gift the hospital Neonate Intensive Care Unit (NICU) $3,216.

persistence pays, giving CHEO $3,216 live on air

persistence pays, giving CHEO $3,216 live on air, CTV Ottawa

The reason why I went back to the hospital to give them money is that I was born 3 months early in 1976, and given 24hrs to live.  With persistence, movement and a team of doctors, nurses and specialists I am here today.

We had the opportunity to return to CHEO and the NICU.  My parents and I met some of the awesome nurses and doctors who now work with the tiny babies and their families at the hospital.  They have the quality of persistence to keep going to find out new ways to help the babies live and thrive.  They have also been developing new technologies to help both baby and Mum bond, and thrive.  One of the newer ideas is something called Kangaroo Care.    This is a technique that was not invented in 1976.

My Dad kept a journal of my time in the NICU.  There were entries of sadness, joy, and stress.  On occasion though there were entries in the journal that made me giggle after I read them.  One of them being that when my parents came to visit me, they noticed that I had little baby doll socks on my tiny hands. Apparently according to the doctors I was moving too much, and was taking my iv and other wires out!  I was had persistence even as a tiny baby to keep going no matter what.  And moving was a part of that!

Persistence to move forward, to keep going.

What will you do to keep moving your energy, your body and persist to overcome challenges?

If you want help to help your daughter find her own inner persistence, and strength to keep going no matter what click here!  And let us know how we here at Inch by Inch Empowerment can help YOU!

Aime Hutton in 1976

Aime Hutton in 1976

13Dec/14

2014 Coming to a Close

Book, CHEO, Dreams, empowerment, speaking

Wow!  What a year 2014 has been!  What did you experience?  What did you get to celebrate?  What did you learn?  Who did you connect with?  Did you lose anyone close to you this year?

I know that many things were celebrated, experienced this year for me.

I also know that I connected with some amazing people from all over the world, and also unfortunately experienced 4 loses of friends/family this year too.

Have you started to plan and think of 2015 yet?  I have!  I want to share with you some of the goals and intentions I have set for myself:

  • To take my eBook I wrote last year “The Hidden Jewels to Being a Wonder Girl” and transforming it into a print book, and perhaps also figuring out how to make it an audio book.  You can find out information in the Books section of the website.
  • The intention has been also set to have planned a Mum/Daughter retreat to the magical land of Ireland!
  • As many of you know this goal was set on Oct. 7 that I raise $3000 for the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa Canada.  The same hospital that saved my life.
  • To speak to organizations/agencies sharing my story of a true miracle.
  • To have my international best selling book “Inch by Inch – Growing in Life” be in gift shops in hospitals across Canada.
  • To facilitate more live workshops for tween and teen girls on a variety of subjects/topics.

 

What about you?  What are your goals/intentions/wishes for 2015 for you?

Would love to hear below!

23Aug/14

Give Back Always

Book, CHEO, Dreams, , , ,
where will you give back?

where will you give back?

It has been an emotional month of August for me.  My ‘baby’ was birthed on the 2nd of August.  I gathered 29 amazing people from around the world and asked them to share a story of overcoming adversity as a child.  The stories were powerful, and emotional to read.  As the stories started hitting the paper inside the book, I was amazed each time after reading the chapters how strong children are.  How they can bounce back from what ever they are experiencing.

For me there was another reason to put the book together.  I wanted to give back.  Giving back to a hospital that saved my life.  The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), in Ottawa Canada saved my life.  I decided early on when in the planning stages to give back to this hospital.  1/3 of the book sales from Amazon is going to the Neonate Intenstive Care Unit at CHEO.  And so far with books alone the donation has reached $314 Canadian Dollars.  I have also asked each author in the book if they wish to donate their portion of their earnings from being in the book on the first day to go back to CHEO.  The ones I have heard from are amazing, as I can add an extra $100 to this total!  😀

There is a saying in eWomen Network and that is “give first, share always.”  And that is something I choose to live by.  Giving what I can, when I can and sharing always.  This is the first time in my business career I can say though that I am donating financially back to a charity that is more than $10.  I do buy raffle tickets at eWomen Network when I am able.  This is different though.  Giving one big chunk of money to a charity and hospital that saved my life feels different to me.

When you give back it also doesn’t have to be financially.  I have given back to community by volunteering my time at events.  Volunteering to help run an event.

Where in your life are you going to give back?  There’s the saying I’ve heard also that when you give back it comes back to you ten fold.

Write your comments below, would love to hear how you are going to chose to give back!

Who will you help in your life?

Who will you help in your life?

04Apr/14

Taking Teamwork!

Book, CHEO, Dreams, empowerment, , , ,

What a crazy couple of weeks it’s been in the land of Inch by Inch Empowerment.  I had a phone call with the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario to see if the book project I’m working on could have part of it’s proceeds be donated to CHEO even as being specific to have the funds go to the NICU.  Well they said YES!  Check out this video with my reaction:

Then this week just a couple of days ago actually I was approached by the hospital to be one of their featured stories for their 40th Anniversary.  CHEO is celebrating 40 years of being in the community of Ottawa helping thousands of children and families on a daily basis. I am 1 of 40 stories that are going to be featured.  The stories are sent out weekly leading up to May 17.  The stories that I’ve read so far have been heartbreaking, and uplifting all at the same time.  Each story is sent to all staff at CHEO, as well as being posted on their website.  Check here for the stories so far!

According to the “Baby Center”  7% of babies born in Canada are premature, with 1.5% being born before 32 weeks, and 0.4% are born before 28 weeks.  This is why CHEO is so interested in my story.  I am in that 0.4%.  Back in 1976 it was very likely that babies born before 28 weeks would not live.  I was born 3 months early, with a birth weight of 1 pound 12 ounces.  I was given a 24hr chance at life.  The doctor thought I wouldn’t live past the 24hr mark.

When my Dad sent me my ‘birth journal’ that he kept, it was emotional to read.  So many ‘critical close calls’ after being born took place.  On IV’s, off IV’s, on oxygen, off oxygen, breathing, and not breathing.  There was something else though that caught my eye.  It was that there was a huge team working to save my life.  There were about 4 different doctors and a huge amount of nurses as well.  I even had a neonateologist while in the NICU.

I am reminded of the eWomen Network motto of “Taking teamwork to make the dream work.”  The doctors and nurses were working as a team to make the dream of saving my life come true.  And it worked.  I am very grateful to the entire team (including my parents) who saved my life, so I could be here today to be of service to women and girls all over the world.

Inch by Inch Cover Photo

If you have a story to share about a child you know that has overcome a challenge/adversity and want to be in the book project.  Action is required.  Not many spaces are left.  This book will reach around the world, and be a source of hope and inspiration to families who have little ones going through their own crisis.  Think about what you would say if you had the opportunity.

All the information can be found here.