Mikey’s Kids – The Mikey At Home Program

Another Mikey’s Kids Family Gains Peace of Mind

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We’re happy to share that another happy family has received a MIKEY defibrillator through our Mikey’s Kids program!

Over the weekend we met with Sandy and Brian, parents of Harmony, our newest MIKEY Kid’s recipient. Above is a beautiful shot of their entire family, who were all delighted by the generosity of the gift, but none more so than Harmony who couldn’t stop smiling during our visit.

The family was very engaged and had many questions for us as we sat down to talk them about their new MIKEY. We walked them through our procedural booklet and are happy to say that they’re keen on learning more, because of which we’re currently working to set up more training opportunities with them in the future.

We’re also happy to share that Harmony’s school has an AED, which allows her family further peace of mind while she’s out of the home.

For parents with children who have heart problems, having a portable defibrillator can literally be life-saving. Knowing that an AED is on hand and ready to help save their child’s life gives so much peace of mind.

We know the first few minutes of a sudden cardiac arrest event is critical to increasing chances of survival. Our Mikey’s Kids program allows children with a high risk of SCA lead a happier, healthier and more active life. These portable MIKEYs can be taken along with them anywhere – at home, at school and at play.

You can learn more about the Mikey’s Kids program and read the testimonials from Mikey Families themselves here. You can also help give these families peace of mind by donating to The Mikey Network directly.

Walk of Life: Mikey Families and Organizations

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Every year the Mikey Network helps to organize a team for the Walk Of Life. The annual event which you can do as a walk or a run is a wonderful way to spend your Saturday. There are tons of fun events that you can do with your family and all of the money that is raised by the Mikey Network’s team goes towards educational programs that advocate for heart health or placements of defibrillators to families or organizations.

As we lead up to the walk, we want to let those that have supported us see where their donations have gone. This week we’re talking about The Mikey’s Kids program and our donations to various organizations.

Mikey’s Kids Program

As a parent, your child’s safety is always a top of mind concern. You want to make sure that they’re always safe and looked after. As we’ve discovered with many families that we’ve dealt with, having a child with a heart condition can certainly be unnerving as it can feel like you’re helpless to protect them.

Can there be anything more terrifying than seeing a child collapse suddenly and stop breathing? And can you imagine the frustration of feeling helpless in such an emergency?

We wanted to help with this, and to give families peace of mind so that they’re not fearful of an emergency because of their child’s heart condition.

Families whose children are at high risk of SCA are provided with a MIKEY, a portable automated external defibrillator (AED), to carry with them at all times so their kids are protected at home, school or play.

Families that are in need of a MIKEY defibrillator reach out to our organization to apply. They’re then given to families, along with a set of instructions on how to use it and maintain the AED. The defibrillators that we provide would not be possible without the donations that are raised at the Walk of Life.

Organizations

The Mikey Network understands that a sudden cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, and for this reason, we want to make sure that they’re as readily available to the public as fire alarms and fire extinguishers are.

To accomplish this, The Mikey Network works with organizations in the community that are in need of a defibrillator. Their needs will vary from helping to save lives with a MIKEY defibrillator; to housing large-scale events with many attendees, such as a sports facility.

This past weekend we provided two new MIKEY’s to the Canadian Ski Patrol’s motorcycle division, which will help them to save lives in emergency situations. This division has been very successful,  saving two lives in 2016 with their MIKEY’s. Pictured below are Marion Karol, VP of Operations for Canadian Ski Patrol, and members of their team.

if you’re an organization that is interested in applying for a MIKEY, you can apply here. 

 

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® Niagara Donates a MIKEY

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The Mikey Network was recently on hand to view the presentation of a MIKEY donation by TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® St.Catharines and Niagara, to the Roma Soccer Club.

In attendance for the presentation was Cotie Drinkwater, General Manager of TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® St.Catharines and Niagara; Martin Beswick, Roma Soccer President (middle), and Pete D’Elia, Roma Soccer Vice President (Right).

Roma Soccer is a soccer club based out of St. Catharines, Ontario, that organizes and coaches youth teams. They’re an organization that is very active in the community, and they strive to be a positive environment, provide supportive infrastructure, and to develop players physically, intellectually and socially through the sport of soccer.

Everyone here at The Mikey Network is touched by the donation of a MIKEY by TWO MEN AND A TRUCK® St.Catharines and Niagara to an active community sports organization like Roma Soccer. We’re pleased to know there is one more MIKEY in the community ready to provide a second chance at life should the need arise.

Mikey Network Celebrates Family Day

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At the Mikey Network, we truly understand the value that family has, as it encompasses so much of the projects and programs that we do as an organization. One of them being the Mikey’s Kids program, which provides MIKEY’s (AED’s) to families that have children with life-threatening heart conditions.

Our experience working with these families is rewarding beyond measure, as providing a MIKEY offers a child protection in case of a sudden cardiac arrest, and offers the family peace of mind to know that their child is safe in case an incident were to occur.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Mikey’s Kid’s program, go to https://mikeyskids.org/. It has tools, resources, and stories of Mikey Families.

Our work doesn’t rely solely on just families with heart-related illnesses though, as there are 6,500 children and teens that experience SCA in Ontario every year.

Knowing that youth are particularly vulnerable when their hearts skip a beat is alarming, which is why we created the Mikey Young at Heart Program to help give peace of mind to families in the community as well as make our schools safer.

The MYAH program works in two parts. One area focuses on the placement of AED’s in schools all over Ontario, while the other part focuses on educating students on how to perform CPR and how to use an AED, through the MYAH app.

To date, 500 MIKEY AED’s have been placed in schools including the Toronto District School Board, Peel District School Board, Halton District School Board, Halton Catholic District School Board, and the Limestone District School Board. While the MYAH app has had 2,479 students signed up to date.

If you would like to share a special story about your family with us, please reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

 

 

Marnie, Daniel, and Lars have peace of mind thanks to their MIKEY Defibrillator

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The Mikey Network is happy to share this photo of Marnie, Daniel, and Lars, one of our Mikey’s Kids families, during their recent family trip. Marnie and Daniel initially connected with The Mikey Network two years ago, after their son Lars was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome.

For parents with children who have heart problems like Long QT Syndrome, having a portable defibrillator can literally be the difference between life and death. Our Mikey’s Kids program provides MIKEYs to families of children who would often not even be able to leave the hospital without one. Having a MIKEY AED on hand and ready to help save their child’s life offers them great peace of mind, and the freedom to live a more normal life.

After recently catching up with the family, we’re happy to report that they’re all healthy and that Lars has yet to experience any LQTS related incidents. This is welcome news to Marnie, who also suffers from LQTS, and has had few incidents since her diagnosis and cardiac arrest in 1999. Although both Marnie and Lars have had few incidents, they understand the need of always being prepared and they make sure to take their MIKEY with them wherever they go.

If you’re interested in helping more families like the Blair family, you can support the Mikeys Kids program by making a donation.