Life can change in an instant. At one time you’re carefree, without a worry in the world. Within moments, those positive feelings can disappear.
For the Abenojar family from Saskatoon, life changed within mere minutes as they watched their daughter Sophia go from happy and healthy to headaches that turned into seizures.
A normal day exchanged for one where a parent is told by a receiving doctor that the next 72 hours would be critical for their daughter.
The Diagnosis
A joyful girl with a passion for singing now sedated and paralyzed. A moment of whiplash for parents who thought this was a normal day and now feared a life-and-death situation.
When the diagnosis came back, they learned that Sophia had Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) which is a tangle of blood vessels that creates irregular connections between arteries and veins. AVM has a less than 1% chance of occurrence.
Imagine finding out your child had received a diagnosis with less than a 1% risk to the general population. Feelings of why us and why now might be at the forefront.
Life After the Injury
AVM left Sophia unable to move and with limited communication skills. Now all meals would be tube-fed. Adjusting to a lost sense of autonomy is difficult, especially for a child. To top it all off, Sophia had to spend her time downstairs in her house, unable to return to her beloved bedroom on the top floor, a place of calm where she could express herself.
When all seemed hopeless, the Kinsmen Foundation was there. They are committed to helping families navigate the uncertainty of life’s hardest moments.
A Beam of Hope
Amid complications and uncertainty, the Abenojars sought out ways they could help their daughter. They scheduled a demo with a vendor for a portable stair climber, one which could hold Sophia and climb the stairs. At the end of the demo, they found out the stair climber was too expensive for them to afford. That same vendor pointed them to the Kinsmen Foundation.
When the Abenojars had nowhere to go, the Kinsmen Foundation granted them a portable stair climber.
Today, this stair climber creates smiles. A smile for the homecoming, back to her bedroom. Sophia is back in a place she loved, just being a kid.
The Kinsmen Foundation is hope when families are hopeless. They throw out a lifeline into the thick of life’s challenges providing medical and mobility equipment as well as necessary medical travel. Behind the Kinsmen Foundation, is a faithful group of supporters who make each gift possible. When you give to the Kinsmen Foundation, you are ensuring that when life’s most difficult moments occur families like the Abenojars can receive support.
Together, we turn critical moments into hopeful ones. Donate today.
The Kinsmen Foundation exists year-round, granting applicants access to special needs and/or mobility equipment as well as medical travel assistance.
Despite only having a population of around 1.2 million people, the generous residents of the province have helped us raise over $181 million since 1977.
