Our family was not overly familiar with Five Counties Children’s Centre when we were first introduced to it in 2014. That followed our son Max’s first discharge from hospital after serious challenges following his birth.
What became quickly obvious to us about Five Counties was that it was an organization that did life-changing work with children, while also providing love and support for families.
Whenever we share Max’s health journey with others, we make sure people understand the level of support Five Counties extends to families.
At one of Max’s first appointments with Five Counties, Kelly remembers walking into the Infant Development room with Max and bursting into tears. She was tired and scared.
There were no words exchanged in that moment. The Occupational Therapist at Five Counties who was helping Max took him from Kelly’s arms, while Max’s Speech and Language Pathologist gave her a hug.
Five Counties staff weren’t just Max’s therapists; at that moment, they quickly became an extension of our family … and we will be forever grateful for them.
After a few appointments at Five Counties, we were strongly encouraged by therapy staff to take Max to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, as they knew something was seriously wrong with his ability to swallow.
Max’s team from Five Counties joined us for one of his throat scans to better learn of his condition. It was amazing to have them there as additional support for us.
Often times, we would bring our older children to Max’s therapy appointments at Five Counties when they fell on a school PA Day. Everyone was amazing to involve Max’s siblings in his care, from explaining the purpose of the exercises to how they could do them at home with Max. The team at Five Counties truly made our children feel that they were just as important in Max’s development as they were.
After two intense years of weekly appointments, Max was able to learn how to swallow, sit up on his own, walk, climb stairs, and achieve all the development milestones that we were told in his early days of life that were not likely to occur.
Today, Max is an incredibly active 11-year-old who enjoys a range of activities and tires us out as we try to keep up with him.
And if you want to consider further legacy beyond the loving care he received at the Centre, consider that our oldest daughter did her high school placement at Five Counties and has started a master’s degree in occupational therapy so she can help others one day.
Our other daughter is studying to become a social worker and recently started volunteering in the emergency department at Sick Kids so she could support other families as they deal with their own crises.
We have no doubt that the supports our family received at Five Counties influenced their career aspirations.
How do you say thank you to a caring organization of individuals who have changed the course of your child’s life and so positively impacted your family? It’s nearly impossible.
However, we have tried to stay involved through volunteering at the Centre (there are many opportunities to do so). We are proud to have established a monthly donation plan (it is simple for anyone to set up and makes a cumulative difference over years), and we speak about our experiences at Five Counties whenever we can.
By doing so, we hope to inspire as many people as possible to support this incredible organization.
Congratulations Five Counties on 50 years of life-changing work!
