SICKKIDS ENABLED MITCH LOWRY TO BE A KID AND MAKE THE CHOICES HE WANTED
Mitchell Lowry, 26 Toronto
Mitch Lowry first came to The Hospital for Sick Children as an infant. At birth, doctors detected something was amiss with his heart. It turned out to be pulmonary valve stenosis — a
congenital heart defect in which the pulmonary valve is too small and can block blood flow out of the heart to the lungs. In some cases, the condition is mild and no treatment is required. But in Mitch’s case, the valve was restrictive enough to require surgery.
Now 26 years old and working at RBC Global Asset Management, Mitch still has the drawing his doctor gave his parents all those years ago to explain what was happening and why it needed to be fixed. Without a procedure to enlarge the valve, his heart would have to strain to get enough blood to his lungs. This could lead to low oxygen levels, cyanosis (turning blue) or even heart failure. As he grew older, he might be limited in his ability to exercise or play sports, and at risk for sudden cardiac events.
Though he was only two years old at the time, Mitch has one vivid memory of the day of his surgery: his mother crying outside the operating room.
“They getting were me to having sleep,” trouble Mitch explains. “I was very stubborn, and I wasn’t getting knocked out, and it was really upsetting my mom.”
But the third try worked. And so did the surgery. His doctor told his parents he would need to avoid caffeine, but otherwise he could do what he liked.
For Mitch that meant sports, and lots of them. He learned to skate shortly after his surgery.
And in many ways, he never looked back. He played AAA hockey, lacrosse and by age 13 was travelling internationally as a competitive wakeboarder — first as part of Canada’s National Development Team and then as a professional. The only thing that slowed him down was the occasional broken bone.
Throughout and teenage years, his childhood Mitch returned to SickKids regularly for monitoring, but his heart remained healthy, and he recalls the visits fondly. As a little kid from a small town, he loved the trips to the big city. He loved throwing coins into the water
fountain, beloved artwork checking in in the with windows, and enjoyed playing video games in the cardiology waiting room — something he wasn’t allowed to do at home. “SickKids enabled me to be a kid and make the choices that I wanted to make,” Mitch said. “I wanted to play sports and
I got to play sports. And if I think about who I am today, my friends, my job — so much of that came from being involved in sports. Without my treatment, none of it would have been possible.”
Mitch knows many people associate hospitals with hard times, but he’s always felt at ease in them because of his experience at SickKids. “I often say, I’m unlucky enough to have had the good fortune to be a SickKids patient,” he said.
“When you get the opportunity to look inside, it’s easy to see how different it is from any other hospital I’ve experienced in my life.
“It’s a special place that changes a lot of lives.”
“I’m unlucky enough to have had the good fortune to be a SickKids patient.”