TORONTO — Like any other little girl her age, eight-year-old Claire wants to do everything from playing the guitar to doing cartwheels. And with the help of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, she’s doing just that.
“When Claire was in utero, her left arm didn’t develop the same way her right arm did and so she was born with what we would call a congenital limb difference,” says Amy Richardson, Certified Prosthetist at Holland Bloorview.
Claire is just one of thousands of children served each year by Holland Bloorview, Canada’s largest kids rehabilitation hospital with a vision to create a world of possibilities for children with disabilities.
“You know we always joke that two hands are probably overrated, but there are some things where having two full hands is mandatory for things like skipping, cartwheeling, playing the guitar … so they’ve allowed her to accomplish really anything she set out to try,” says Susan Marshall, Claire’s mother.
From doing cartwheels, to playing the guitar, even kayaking- Holland Bloorview provides children with disabilities the tools to participate fully in life.
“Well she’s made that guitar helper, and she’s made a little tumbler which helps me do cartwheels. She’s made a kayak paddle helper,” says Claire.
“We have a whole staff of other certified prosthetists as well as prosthetic technicians who help with the fabrication and the repair of the devices,” says Richardson. “We work with a team of therapists who help clients like Claire learn how to use their devices in the best way possible.”
For Claire, the support she has received at Holland Bloorview goes far beyond her favourite activities.
“It means a lot to me because it helped overcome barriers that I had and it helped make helpers for me and it’s done a lot for me.”