ONE LEGACY GIFT, MANY HAPPY ENDINGS
Have you ever had a life-changing experience that made you want to give back? Marg and Henry King have. For years, the couple ran a popular Father’s Day fundraiser for BC Children’s Hospital at their Penticton garden centre, Art Knapp’s Plantland. Then they went further and included a gift to BC Children’s Hospital Foundation in their wills – all because of the care their son Patrick received as a fragile premature baby.
The Kings’ story began in September 1990. Marg was 30 weeks pregnant when her water broke. Since Penticton Regional Hospital wasn’t equipped to deliver preterm babies, Marg’s doctor had her airlifted to Grace Hospital in Vancouver, where Patrick was born 24 hours later. He weighed 3.5 pounds. “He was tiny, just so tiny,” said Henry, still amazed after all these years.
Immediately after birth, Patrick was whisked to acute care, where Marg and Henry gazed at their son through the tubes and wires that were his lifeline. They longed to hold their new baby, but had to be content with a gentle caress. Patrick was too frail for anything more.
Despite their high-pressure situation, Marg and Henry were acutely aware of the excellent care their family was receiving. A nurse from BC Children’s Hospital watched over Patrick 24/7 during the crucial first week – when he needed an oxygen machine to breathe, a morphine drip for pain, and an emergency blood transfusion.
After Patrick’s situation stabilized, Marg and Henry learned about the health challenges their son might face in the years ahead. “They counsel you very well,” Marg noted. “They want you to be ready for the worst that might happen, so they lay it all on the line.”
Fortunately, Patrick’s health improved slowly but steadily. A month later, the Infant Transport Team airlifted him back to Penticton. By late October, he was home.
Fast-forward to 2017: Patrick is now a digital media specialist in New York City – and a strapping 6-foot-5 to boot. Cheerful and driven, he shows no ill effects from his early arrival.
“If Patrick had been born in Penticton, there’s a chance he wouldn’t be here now,” Henry said.
The couple is proud to have provided for BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. It was an easy step to take – just a few words in their wills – to help the patients and families of tomorrow reach happy endings of their own.
For information on including a gift to BC Children’s Hospital in your estate plans, please call 604-875-3679, email legacy@ bcchf.ca or visit bcchf.ca/legacy.