Chloe is a bright light.
“Anytime you walk into a room, she’s smiling,” says her father, Conrad. “She always tries to spread happiness to everyone.” With her love for volleyball, arts and crafts, dolls, dancing and singing, Chloe radiates joy.
At just four years old, Chloe began showing symptoms that worried her family. “She was wetting herself at recess,” recalls Conrad. In the diabetes research field himself, Chloe’s father had a gut feeling something wasn’t right. A quick test at home on Halloween confirmed it: Chloe’s glucose levels were dangerously high.
They first went to a local hospital, but Conrad left feeling anxious and uninformed. He called a colleague, who urged him to head to a teaching hospital instead. When they arrived at McMaster Children’s Hospital, everything changed.
“The care I received as soon as I got there… wow,” he says. “A nurse and a child life worker met us right at the ER and let us know what’s going on and that everything was going to be OK.”
Dr. Bassilious formally diagnosed Chloe with type 1 diabetes and immediately offered reassurance. “She’s going grow up to be a healthy woman. She’s going have a great quality of life. Don’t worry, everything will be OK,” she told Conrad, her tone, her compassion, instantly putting him at ease.
McMaster Children’s Hospital is one of Canada’s largest pediatric teaching hospitals and serves more than 77,000 patients each year. As a regional hub for children’s care, it provides highly specialized services that make a life-changing difference for families like Chloe’s.
For Chloe, the team’s approach was empowering from the start. “They actually allow Chloe to be part of the care decisions,” says Conrad. “It’s a conversation with me in adult language and then it’s relayed into her language level so she can understand everything.” Appointments begin with questions about Chloe’s wellbeing, before shifting into medical details. “It helps build her self-esteem, gauges her mental well-being and her owning what she has.”
Today, Chloe visits the Child and Youth Clinic every four months for monitoring and support. With every decision, her holistic wellbeing is the focus. For example, Chloe was recommended two wearable medical devices – a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and an insulin pump – that work together to manage her condition. “It gives us peace of mind,” says Conrad. These devices reduce the number of injections she needs from eight needles daily to just one every three days.
Child Life specialists have been there every step of the way, helping Chloe and her family prepare for future transitions like puberty. They’ve offered guidance on body image and medical devices, helping Chloe feel confident and supported as she navigates this stage of growing up. Additionally, Chloe’s older sister Kaitlyn was offered sessions to help her cope with her sister’s diagnosis and the ever-changing dynamics at home. This quickly became a ‘household’ chronic disease.
Inspired by this support, Chloe has become a passionate advocate. She’s walked the runway in a Diabetes Canada fashion show called Pump Couture, proudly displaying her devices. She’s also offered peer support to other children starting on a CGM.
Conrad credits Chloe’s health and confidence to the comprehensive and child-centered care she has received at McMaster Children’s Hospital. To ensure patients with complex chronic conditions get optimal care, they should go to places like McMaster Children’s Hospital. Taking the time to diagnose, talk, treat and build a relationship is paramount,” says Conrad. “Bundled care makes a world of difference. Anyone who asks me I tell them go to McMaster Children’s Hospital.”
This level of care is only possible thanks to donor support. From emergency care to ongoing clinic visits, donor generosity helps fund essential programs like Child Life, advanced monitoring technologies, and the kind of wraparound care that sees the whole child.
“Even the little arts and craft table helped her take the weight and the burden off what was going on,” says Conrad. “It just allowed her to be a kid.” Whether it’s paint supplies, medical devices, or a reassuring voice, donor generosity helps ensure that children like Chloe receive the exceptional care they deserve today, and for years to come.