Life-threatening brain disorders make up 20% of Calgary and Southern Alberta ICU admissions – that’s more than 900 patients annually.
3 out of every 4 people admitted to ICU with a severe brain disorder are under the age of 65 years old.
76% of patients with emergency brain disorders are cared for through Calgary Health Foundation’s family of four hospitals.
The five most common conditions neurological critical care patients suffer are: cardiac arrest (35%), brain trauma (25%), severe seizures (10%), strokes and brain bleeds (20%).
Your gift to Calgary Health Foundation this holiday season will help our family of hospitals improve neurocritical care specialty services. We have the knowledge and capacity to invest your donation where and when it’s needed most, so your loved ones and neighbours receive the best possible care, giving everyone a fighting chance.
At just 35 years old, Sarah Reid suffered a stroke that left her unconscious at home with her four year old son, Kolten, helplessly at her side. When Kolten was two, his father suffered a catastrophic brain injury and within two short years passed away. Then, only months later, Kolten nearly lost his mother to a serious and critical brain emergency.
For Kael Bernard and his family, life could look a lot different following a 2019 car accident that left him in a coma with a severe, traumatic brain injury. For weeks his parents sat diligently at his side as Kael was connected to life-support with special monitors in his brain as it began to heal, uncertain of what the future would hold for their 17-year old son.
On March 27, 2019, Rick expected to wake up and tackle another day’s work on their family’s farm. Instead, when he tried eating some lunch, he was not able to lift his neck to eat or lift the spoon to feed himself. What began as a mild concern and a quick trip from their farm in rural Alberta to the hospital in Hanna, quickly escalated into a life-threatening emergency.
Calgary Health Foundation is committed to becoming a world-class leader in neurocritical care. With you by our side, we can expand our program, resulting in a 10%-15% increase in the odds of survival among our patients and a 15%-20% increase in the chance of our patients returning home with minimal disability over the next five years.
Recovery from critical brain disorders is possible. But we can’t do it without you. Your special holiday gift today can make a difference in someone’s life tomorrow.
With your help this holiday season, we can invest in additional resources, purchase essential, state-of-the-art equipment and further ground-breaking research, while working with other world-class facilities in the field of neurocritical care.