As hope grows, our children grow.

Have you ever been told to follow your intuition? Marie-Pier did and, between that and your donations, it helped save her daughter’s life – before she was even born. Only 20 weeks into her pregnancy, Marie-Pier found out that Emmy had an accumulation of lymphatic fluid around her lungs.

At only 13, Camille has already experienced life with three different hearts. She was born with dilated cardiomyopathy, and while waiting for a suitable donor organ, she had a Berlin heart – a revolutionary ventricular assist device that has saved hundred of young lives at Sainte-Justine – implanted. And in April 2020, she received her “real” heart, the one that would get things back on track.

More than two decades ago, the physicians at Sainte-Justine took steps to actively invest in the hospital’s educational mission through personal investments to the Academic Fund. This past year, they donated a record $2 million plus, an amount that has been increased by the Foundation's other donors, representing more than $2.5 million for the training of up-and-coming medical professionals.

Lyana is one of half a million Canadian children living with a rare genetic disorder. For her and others like her, the teams of caregivers and researchers at Sainte-Justine are helping to broaden the body of knowledge related to precision medicine. The more that is understood about these conditions, the more that can be done to prevent them altogether and care for each and every child. Here’s where these breakthroughs are taking us, thanks to you.

Lyana was born with a severe form of Noonan syndrome, a rare genetic disorder affecting about one in every 2,000 children. Major heart complications meant she wasn’t expected to live past toddlerhood. But then a scientific breakthrough changed everything.

Over coffee and pie, a new friendship was born. It marked a turning point in Elvira Mariotti’s life, one that set her on the path to become the committed philanthropist she is today. Elvira’s experience at Sainte-Justine with her daughter led the mother of two to include the institution in her will, giving what many consider to be the ultimate gift.

“His stomach is a little on the small side.” Those are the first words I remember hearing from my family doctor during a routine ultrasound at the end of my second trimester. “I’ll have to transfer your file to Sainte-Justine.” And that’s where it all started.

Now four months old, Kamilla is doing well, despite her underlying health problems. She will receive albumin treatments for as long as she can. Because there still isn’t anything else available to cure her kidneys. For Kamilla, a transplant is the only option.