Helping Kids Make the Transition
“I would say that wanting to be a bioethicist has come from many hours of being a patient and spending lots of time in the hospital and at Bloorview,” says Dolly.
Dolly began her relationship with Bloorview Kids Rehab in the early eighties at age 3 to treat her juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. During her time at Bloorview, Dolly has been an inpatient, day patient and outpatient.
After more than 25 years, Dolly’s connection to Bloorview is still strong. She is the former Chairperson of Bloorview’s Youth Advisory Council and is currently working at a Youth Facilitator in Bloorview’s Therapeutic Recreation and Life Skills department as well as in the LIFEspan service at Bloorview and Toronto Rehab Institute.
“I really believe that health care is a whole lot more than being told what to do by your medical team,” says Dolly. “There are so many learning opportunities and chances for kids to feel knowledgeable, and able to contribute.”
“The LIFEspan service really allows for those opportunities and that’s why I think it’s such an important project and I love being the Youth Facilitator because it’s an older version of the teens we see. The clients and parents see possibility,” says Dolly.
Dolly is a community member of the Sick Kids Research Ethics Board and is studying Bioethics at the University of Toronto. Dolly’s love of bioethics and her personal experience have made her very interested in the area of Transition. With a focus on shared management and interdependence she speaks to youth and their families about the process of Growing Up Ready.
Learn more about Bloorview’s LIFEspan and Growing Up Ready programs.
