- Home
- pastevents
History of Miracle Golf Day:
Miracle Golf Day began in 2017, when RE/MAX Enterprises and RE/MAX Specialists teamed up to give the gift of hearing to a special little girl from the Philippines. The golf day raised over $16,000 and inspired Specialists owner Greg Gilmour to pay the entire cost of the surgery, giving the family a fund for speech therapy and Trisha’s education.
Charged by the success of Trisha’s Miracle, the Golf Day committee decided to make it an annual event. In 2018, we raised over $17,000 for Aiden, a boy from Port Perry with Cerebral Palsy and a single mother of 4. With the funds at Aiden’s Miracle, Aiden was able to get a new custom wheelchair and an exercise bike to keep his body as limber as possible. In 2019, we raised over $23,000 for 4 year-old Layla from Mississauga who has Cerebral Palsy. The funds raised at Layla’s Miracle was used to help obtain a variety of equipment and devices to aid Layla with her gross and fine motor skills, along with medication that was not covered, and a larger vehicle that fits her Walker and Wheelchair. In 2020, the pandemic prevented us from hosting a Golf Day, but we supported a local Pizza Nova Franchise owner in raising funds for the Knapp family, who suffered the loss of the father shortly after the mother of two had survived a bacterial infection that resulted in the amputation of several fingers, toes, and part of her foot. With only a few days of fundraising, we were able to contribute $3000. In 2021 we supported Tyler, a boy from Burlington who has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy following a Bacterial Meningitis infection he contracted at 3 weeks old. The funds raised helped Tyler's parents make their home wheelchair accessible.
This year our Miracle Child is 7 year old Rian, who was born with AADC deficiency, a severe condition where children have no motor function. They are unable to move, speak, or even eat, relying on medical intervention to survive. In September 2019, just before her 5th birthday, Rian received gene therapy in Europe. Although the quality of her life has improved dramatically, she still lives with many disabilities and is playing an intense game of “catch up” to work on fine and gross motor, communication, cognitive and behavioural skills. Funds raised for Rian this year will help with therapy costs as they work to support Rian's development.
Miracle Golf Day would not be possible without the support of all of our volunteers, golfers and sponsors, especially Piper’s Heath Golf and Country Club, who host us each year.
|
|
Our first Miracle Golf Fundraiser in 2017 Trisha was born deaf and therefore never learned to speak. Her family dreamed of giving her cochlear implants but in the Philippines, the expensive surgery is not covered. Her mother moved to Canada on the Caregiver Program in hopes of bringing her family for a better life, and to a place where Trisha’s surgery might be covered under OHIP. Unfortunately, the surgery became less likely as Trisha grew. By the time the family was nearly ready to move Trisha was 11, and it was unlikely that SickKids would do the surgery. We cannot choose to pay for elective surgery in Canada, so it became clear that the only way to give Trisha the gift of hearing was to pay for the surgery in the Philippines before she moved to Canada. On the first ever Miracle Golf Day, in 2017, we raised over $16,000 for Trisha’s surgery. RE/MAX Specialists owner, Greg Gilmour agreed to cover the entire cost of the surgery! Trisha heard the sound of her mother’s voice for the first time in 2017. She delighted in identifying the sounds of birds chirping and dogs barking. Also in 2017 for the first time in her 12 years, Trisha said “Mama”. Trisha lives with her family in Port Credit and attends a school for the hard of hearing in Milton, where she giggles with her besties and learns to wrap her ears and mouth around new sounds every day. | Our 2018 Miracle Golf Fundraiser Aiden loves baseball. From the moment he could hold a baseball he would practice throwing it and playing catch with his siblings. His will to play earned him a spot on the roster of a local team where he has spent a few happy summers, despite having to miss parts of each season due to pains in his legs. Aiden dreams of being a famous Baseball Player. Aiden had surgery in 2018 at Sick Kids hospital in Toronto, where Doctors stretched out the tendons that have been plaguing this little boy all his life. From the age of 2.5, Botox injections have been administered every 4 months to help relax those tendons. This procedure was followed up with leg casts to help stretch out the tendons over a period of 3-4 weeks. Unfortunately, this practice has diminished in effectiveness over time and now he lives with constant pain. Orthopedic braces that once aided him to play the sport he loved can no longer help either. Aiden was unable to stretch his heels to the floor. The surgery itself took 4 hours and resulted in a 12 week institutionalized (Bloorview Children’s Rehabilitation Hospital) recovery period. Aiden was very lucky to have been accepted for this procedure and his mother Kelda is exceptionally thankful for his recovery. The elongated procedure does add a considerable weight to an already abundant charge for Kelda and this is where outside support would be most appreciated. Aiden and his family were able to purchase a costly physiotherapy bike with the funds raised by our charity tournament and thankfully this equipment will grow with him and provide years of free therapy. It also gives him the opportunity to engage in some athletics which makes this young boy very happy:) |
Our 2019 Miracle Golf Fundraiser You never know what life has in store for you. Layla (nicknamed “L.A.M.B.” after her initials) was born in 2016 and was diagnosed with Spastic Quadriplegia Cerebral Palsy which means she has spasticity (tight muscles that are difficult to stretch) in all four limbs and because of this, her gross and fine motor skills have been affected. Since there is no cure for CP the focus is on early intervention and to get her muscles moving and stretching through Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy. She has come so far and is truly remarkable. Layla is a strong little girl with the drive and motivation to keep trying. She never gives up and almost always has a smile on her face. Her achievements thus far are amazing. There are a lot of tools equipment that Layla requires to excel and most of them have high ticket prices, but the benefits of having them far exceed the costs. With the funds raised at Layla's Miracle, the family was able to put purchase a variety of equipment and devices to aid Layla with her gross and fine motor skills, along with medication that was not covered, and a larger vehicle that fits her Walker and Wheelchair. |
Our 2021 Miracle Golf Fundraiser Tyler was born healthy on October, 28th 2010 and at 3 weeks old he contracted Bacterial Meningitis and was hospitalized for 3 weeks. The meningitis caused a brain injury and he was later diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy which has severely delayed his fine and gross motor skills. Over the years the family has run numerous fundraisers to help raise money for Tyler’s therapies and his non-invasive surgeries in New Jersey in June 2015 and May 2019. The surgeries were NOT available in Canada and they helped reduce the rigidness of his muscles so he will have better ease of movement and functionality. Tyler is non-verbal and communicates through his high-tech eye gaze machine which has allowed him to be more independent and provided him with a way to be heard and make learning easier. He requires full-time support for his daily needs and relies on his parents for all of his transfers and positioning which can be physically and emotionally demanding. Tyler's family was able to put our fundraising towards renovations on their house to make it more accessible for Tyler and his wheelchair. A more accessible house will help Tyler to be a part the family's daily activities. |
