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Photo credit: Flytographer
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Scarlett's Transplant Story SUMMER/FALL 2024 | VOLUME 44 Scarlett's Transplant Story
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Message from the Chairman
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Message from the CEO
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Message from the SVP, Fund Development
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Message from the Director of Family Relations
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Scarlett's Transplant Journey Continued
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Thank You BC Lions!
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The Future is So Bright Campaign
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The Future's So Bright We Need Sunglasses
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Thank You to All Our Partners
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David Foster's 75th Birthday—Sold Out!
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212 HENRY ST., VICTORIA, BC V9A 3H9 OFFICE: 250.475.1223 FAX: 250.475.1193 TOLL FREE: 1.877.777.7675 DAVIDFOSTERFOUNDATION.COM
In July of 2023, Kaitlynn, who was 20 weeks Scarlett pregnant, and her mother were driving to TRANSPLANT NEEDED: HEART Lethbridge, which is 925 km away from their HOME: home in Grande Prairie, to visit family for a GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB week. During the drive, a neurologist's office called to book an appointment for Scarlett for the following month in Lethbridge. Scarlett, who was 15 months old at the time, had been missing milestones usual for children her age. She wasn’t able to pull herself up to stand or walk, so the family’s doctor had referred her to a specialist. After explaining that they lived far but were going to be in Lethbridge, the office scheduled an appointment a few days later. At the appointment, the doctor expressed serious concerns about Scarlett's breathing and weight. The doctor advised them to go to the emergency room to see a pediatrician immediately and didn’t feel comfortable having them wait longer than necessary. This emergency visit was the first time anyone mentioned Scarlett’s heart condition, which came as a shock to Kaitlynn as they had been attending regular appointments with Scarlett given her slow start to crawl. Scarlett was admitted during that visit with failure to thrive, and the next day, she was diagnosed with restrictive cardiomyopathy, along with a non-cardiac diagnosis of failure to thrive and global developmental delay. It was no wonder that Scarlett was struggling to crawl with the stress her heart was under. The assessment process for a heart transplant began the following day. CONTINUES ON PAGE 4