May 6, 2016
Josh and Amy Bernhard pushed their twins Noah and Emma in their stroller in the 2014 edition of the annual SportChek Mother’s Day Run, Walk and Ride, an event which raises funds to support pediatric and neonatal care in Calgary and Edmonton.
Story by Kerry Robins; Photo supplied by Bernhard Family
Mom’s big day always picks up a loving, positive momentum when thousands of families lace up for the Sport Chek Mother’s Day Run, Walk and Ride — an annual event in Calgary and Edmonton which has raised millions of dollars to date for pediatric and neonatal care.
Capacity crowds have taken to the streets for 21 years running in Edmonton and 39 years in Calgary to walk, run or roll in wheelchairs on a variety of courses that include 2.5 and 5 km rides, 5 and 10 km walks and runs and a ‘little legs’ race for the wee ones.
Hosted by the Forzani Foundation, the run ultimately sees proceeds benefit newborns through the Calgary Health Trust and the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. This year's event raised about $300,000 — $200,000 in Calgary and $100,000 in Edmonton.
“The Sport Chek Mother’s Day Run, Walk and Ride has played an important part in caring for Calgary’s smallest patients,” says Nicole Janke, Manager of Events and Lotteries at the Calgary Health Trust.
“The run and all the participants have raised more than $2 million dollars in the past 10 years for Calgary Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), (money) which has gone to the purchase of specialized equipment, and given these babies the best start in life possible.”
It’s estimated that one in 10 babies born in Alberta is born before 37 weeks. “Thanks to the people participating in the Mother’s Day Run, Walk and Ride, we are able to purchase and maximize resources for these tiny patients,” adds Janke.
This year, Calgary Health Trust intends to apply its share of proceeds towards maximizing resources in NICUs and buying new equipment.
Edmonton’s share this year will help pay for a $100,000 Zeiss OPMI IFC operating microscope for the Stollery Children’s Hospital. The microscope focuses on areas in the middle ear, nose and throat for surgeons during microsurgeries, and projects real-time images onto a video screen for the OR medical team.
“Family-centred care at the Stollery is incredibly important to us,” says Mike House, President and CEO of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. “This family event is a chance for people to celebrate their moms while raising important funds to support many of those same families that rely on the care, compassion and expertise that exists at the Hospital."
The starting lines for this year’s events are at Chinook Shopping Centre in Calgary and Hawrelak Park in Edmonton. For more details, please visit mdrunandwalk.com
One grateful family that knows the Calgary route well are Josh and Amy Bernhard. The couple walk 5 km each year with their twins Noah and Emma.
“This is our third year participating and we enjoy the event so much,” says Amy, 31, who lives in Water Valley, 83 km west of Calgary.
The couple’s twins spent more than 350 days at the Foothills Hospital and the Alberta Children’s Hospital after they were born 13 weeks early.
“Josh and I are so fortunate, and blessed to have received the care needed to keep our babies alive,” says Amy. “And when you see the intensive care unit, and are part of it, it really makes you want to support it in any way you can.”
When she was 24 weeks pregnant with triplets, Amy called Alberta Health Services (AHS) health link to share her feeling that could be wrong, wondering if perhaps one of her babies’ membranes had broken. She was advised to go to the hospital, and three days later, she gave birth to triplets — Noah, Emma and Ashton.
At birth, each baby weighed about 600 grams (1 pound, 5 ounces). Sadly, Ashton passed away after three days.
Noah and Emma spent most of their time at the Foothills NICU, followed by a short stay at Alberta Children’s Hospital. While Emma went home at five months, her brother had to wait seven months more to join her at home.
“It was terrifying when I went into the hospital and thinking how my babies weren’t ready to be born yet,” says Amy. “But the care Noah and Emma received was outstanding and we got to know many of the staff very well; we do the walk on Mother’s Day with some of the nurses who cared for us.”
“We met a lot of families when our children were born at the Foothills,” she adds, “and being part of this run is important to us. We’ve seen first-hand the miracles that happen in NICU.”
For more information, please visit calgaryhealthtrust.ca or stollerykids.com
