#ForMaverick: The Life Of Baby Maverick Is One You Won't Ever Forget, His Parents & Community Will Make Sure Of It

There is an expectation that when you bring your baby home from the hospital, everything is going to be okay. You believe you are about to start the next chapter of your life with joy and love. Well, for the Willett family, this was not the case with their baby Maverick. Read about their rollercoaster journey in the words of Maverick’s father Joel Willett…

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When we found out we were expecting a boy on December 4th, 2017, our joy was indescribable. We had a house full of girls, and finally adding a boy would help even things out a bit.

We never imagined that after finding out his sex, our joy would be followed by pain and confusion.

On December 22nd, Amanda got a call from her doctor asking us to come see him. He needed to discuss her pregnancy and it couldn’t be done on the phone. We rushed over as quickly as we could, with dread running through our heads. When we finally arrived and sat waiting for our doctor, he told us that our unborn son had congenital heart disease, but in order to know more, we would have to travel to SickKids for better imaging and a proper diagnosis.

Maverick, Amanda and Joel

From what our doctor saw, he thought that he had a condition called “Hypo-plastic left heart syndrome.” We did what anyone would do when finding out something was wrong with their child: we cried, we imagined the worst, and we googled what possibly could be wrong.

It was Christmas time, and we had to take this news and share with our family about what was happening and why we weren’t having a festive Christmas. It was a difficult holiday season to say the least.

On December 27th, we made our first trip to Toronto to the world-renowned Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). We sat through hours of imaging and discussion with our cardiologist to try to make sense of what was wrong with our baby. We were given diagrams and discussed a variety of issues that were happening with our son’s heart. The doctor gave us a scale of possible outcomes that we could expect as we continued through the pregnancy.

SickKids was incredible to Baby Maverick

On one end of the scale, we had the aforementioned “hypo-plastic left heart syndrome” which would require a possible heart transplant. On the other, we were told it would only require a couple procedures to repair his heart and allow him to live a normal life. All we could do was hope and pray that his heart would grow, and he would only require minimal treatment.

We knew at this point we had to find a name for our baby that had meaning. Something strong that would give him strength to fight his heart disease. We landed on the name Maverick because it meant an independent man who does not conform to normality. It was perfect for our boy who was facing an uphill battle.

We spent the rest of the pregnancy driving back and forth to Toronto for imaging and to talk to the doctors who would be delivering Maverick. The plan was that they would deliver Maverick at Mount Sinai Hospital, and he would be transferred to nearby SickKids immediately where he would undergo emergency surgery to repair his heart—or, he would be put on support to help his heart do the work that was needed.

As we got closer to his due date, we became more and more worried about his birthing plan, being that we lived in Peterborough and Toronto isn’t just a couple kilometers away. We decided that the best thing to do was to have a C-section, so that we had a firm date of when we would welcome Maverick to the world.

When April 11th, 2018 came along, we packed up the van, kissed our two girls goodbye and ensured them that the next time we talked they would be big sisters to their new baby brother Maverick. We set out to Mount Sinai where we were expecting to deliver Maverick at 2 p.m.

It wasn’t till almost 10:00 p.m. when Amanda was finally taken in. Maverick was born at 10:22 p.m., weighing 8lb 6oz. What came next was not what we were expecting. Somehow, Maverick was stable. We couldn’t believe it, this meant we got to spend a few minutes with him before he would be taken over by the SickKids transportation team.

These few minutes meant the world to us. I was lucky enough to be able to go see him at SickKids that night and spend time with him after he was checked in and the doctors had a chance to examine him. Unfortunately, Amanda couldn’t come and spend that time with him, but the determination from her the very next day to be able to walk so she could go see him is unmatched. There was nothing in this world that was going to stop her from seeing her baby.

Over the next several days, we met with doctors, nurses, and his entire cardiology team. They said Maverick was doing better than expected and that emergency surgery would not be required at this time. See, Maverick was a fighter, and he was determined to get healthy. His heart continued to grow and continued to baffle the doctors to the point where they just wanted to let him grow. This was great news!

As each day passed, his odds got better that he would only require a bi-ventricle repair to fix the following issues with his heart:

·       Severe coarctation of the aorta with transverse and isthmal Hypoplasia.

·       Mildly thickened and hypoplastic aortic valve, possible bicuspid aortic valve.

·       Hypoplastic ascending aorta

·       Mild to moderate Hypoplastic left ventricle

·       Single left aided SVC draining to right atrium via a dilated coronary sinus

·       Probably perimembranous VSD

·       Petent forame. Ovale with mainly left to right shunting

There was nothing to call his condition. It was just a bunch of different conditions all attacking him at once. But Maverick was fighting—fighting hard.

Joel, Mya, Maverick, Kyleigh & Amanda

A month went by as Amanda stayed in Toronto at the Ronald McDonald House and with Maverick at SickKids, and I drove back and forth between work and them. It was an extremely difficult month. It seemed at times as if we were being told something different every day about his surgery.

Finally, we got the news that he would have a minor surgery to help address a couple of the issues. At one-month-old, Maverick had his first open heart surgery: a four-hour procedure where they would put a stent in his aortic valve and bands to control the blood from his heart. This meant Mav would be able to come home until his next surgery.

The time flew between his first and second surgery. We bought a new home. We began planning our lives again. We were happy. Maverick was excelling as a baby and hitting all the markers as if there was never anything wrong with him. For 6 months, it was like his heart condition never existed, except for the scar that he had on his chest.

Maverick was a happy boy, always playing and smiling. He loved to play on the ground with his sisters. Mya, the youngest sister, would be in his face trying to play, but he complained or cried. Kyleigh, the older sister, would always take care of him and spend her time with him every chance she could. Like I said, we were happy.

We were told his next surgery was scheduled for October 9th, 2018, two days before he would be 6 months old. We met with his doctors and nurses and we went over the procedure he was to have. It was to be an 8-hour procedure, but this would be the last surgery he would need, because in his short 6 months, his heart just continued to grow and thrive.

On the date of his surgery, we sat patiently in the waiting-room. When his doctor finally came out, he delivered us the news that Maverick’s surgery was a complete success and we could see him soon. When we finally got in his room, all we could see was our little boy laying there with what seemed to be an infinite amount of tubes and medicines attached to him keeping him alive. It was heartbreaking, but we knew that he was going to be alright. We knew that soon he would be home again.

Maverick only spent 10 days in hospital. Because he was such a fighter, he continued to get better and better. He was working overtime so that he could get better. When he finally started to wake up, he was sedated, and there was something different. That smile of his that was so infectious was gone. We could see he was in pain.

For several days we couldn’t pick him up, which made it only harder on us. Day by day, Mav would be taken off a different meds and his smile started to come back. He was off 99 percent of his meds and we got told that we would be able to bring him home. We were overcome with joy.

The girls and I drove up to Toronto on October 19th, 2018, finally ready to bring Mom and Maverick home for good. We said goodbye to the remarkable doctors and nurses who took such wonderful care of him (and Amanda) at SickKids, and who will forever hold a place in our hearts.

Our journey home began.

We pulled into our driveway at 4:45 p.m. We got all the kids in the house and now it was just time to be together and share as much love as we could. The girls got to hold him and share all the affection that he had been waiting so long for. Amanda and I got to watch our family be together again.

As the evening went on, Kyleigh went to a sleepover, Mya went to bed, and we got some mom and dad time with Mav. We settled Maverick to bed at his usual time and everything was good. Like normal, Amanda woke up in the night because he was fussing. He was having indigestion, so as a precaution she took him to the hospital to get a prescription filled that helped ease it.

When they got home, his cries woke me up and we spent time cuddling him and calming him down and back to sleep. We decided to do something that we never did: we brought him to our bed and let him sleep with us. We spent the night holding his hand and kissing his soft head.

Amanda woke up to him fussing at one point in the wee hours of the morning, so she patted his bum and he fell asleep. This was the last moment we know Maverick was alive.

Mya came strolling in to our room at 7:15 a.m. like any other day. She woke us both up and when Amanda laid eyes on Maverick, she began to scream.

Maverick was not breathing.

I had just taken a CPR course the weekend before, so I jumped into action and began performing CPR while Amanda called 911. Fire and Rescue was first on scene, followed quickly by the paramedics. They worked to bring Maverick back and rushed him to PRHC hospital. They were so supportive in their efforts while they tried to save Maverick.

When we got to the hospital, doctors and nurses were on hand to try and revive Maverick. I travelled to the hospital with the ambulance while Amanda got Mya off to her grandparents. Nobody in that room thought their day was going to start off this way. They worked on Maverick for so long. We had a family friend who was a nurse in the room and we could see that they were doing everything imaginable to save our boy.

The doctor told us to come close and hold him. It was time. We held him for the next 2 ½ hours. The hospital was quiet. It’s like we could read everyone’s minds. He was gone. And our lives would never be the same.

It was later discovered that Maverick suffered a massive heart attack in his sleep.

There was nothing we could have done to predict or prevent it. And being only 6 months old, there was no way he would have been able to communicate that something was wrong. Time stood still. To add to our grief, our phones were still going off from social media notifications from friends, family and complete strangers welcoming him home who had no idea what had just happened. Our Hollywood ending of bringing him home was now a tragedy.

There was a dark realization that we were going to have to tell our daughters—who we had promised them he was going to be alright—that Maverick was not going to be coming home.

Over the next week, we had to plan the one thing no parent should have to do. We had to plan our child’s funeral. We didn’t have life insurance on him, so this was going to come out of our pockets. That’s when Maverick’s Godparents made a GoFundMe page to help us cover the costs some. The amount of support that came from family, friends, and the whole community was remarkable. We were able to give him a funeral and his final resting place that he deserved.

They say that when you survive a child, there is no such thing as good days. There are only bad days and worse days. Let me tell you this is true. We wake most days with the thought of him being gone. We worry and lose sleep over the thought of something happening to one of our girls. It is a constant nightmare when you know you are awake.

Now, the holidays have passed, and we have done everything we can to stay busy, but there was something calling us to remember Maverick. So that is exactly what we are going to do. SickKids gave us six months with Maverick, and it was six months that we may not have received without them.

That is why this year, we are aiming to raise $65,000 for SickKids. But we need your help. Please consider supporting us and keeping the memory of Maverick alive by donating here. This one is #ForMaverick, and all the kids who receive treatment from SickKids.

—by Joel Willett

[Like the “ForMaverick” Facebook page and spread the word about this story on your social media channels]

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The Canal Is Now Open For Skating

We are doing a double axel and attempting a triple with the news that the green flag is up on the Trent Canal for the first time this season, meaning conditions are safe to skate there!

Photo by Evan Holt, PTBOCanada

If you haven’t skated on it, it’s definitely a bucket list thing to do with the family or on date night…

View this post on Instagram

Tommy's first time skating and Mom and Dad's first time on skates in a decade. Lots of falls and only a few emotional meltdowns, but I eventually got used to it. Tommy is a natural and will most certainly become the world's best hockey player. @jennjudson65 @ptbo_canada #liftlock #skating #peterboroughontario

A post shared by Mike Judson (@mike_judskin) on Jan 3, 2019 at 3:35am PST

The City of Peterborough tweeted out the great news that it’s now ready…

Not your ordinary public skate!

The flag is green and skating under the Peterborough Lift Lock is open. Check the City of Peterborough website for updates on the status of the canal. pic.twitter.com/4fNTsI72cR

— City of Peterborough (@CityPtbo) January 2, 2019

Remember, if the red flag goes up… NO SKATING!!

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How Havelock Built An Outdoor Community Rink In The Blink Of An Eye

The idea for a large, free outdoor community rink in the small town of Havelock near Peterborough hatched in David Sharpe from a childhood memory of a rink that was kept on a nearby farm. It inspired this community builder in adulthood to put together a plan to make it happen, and in a matter of months—thanks to a community that rallied around him—that dream is happening.

David and his family spearheaded the rink initiative in Havelock to build it on the infield of the Havelock Ball Diamond, and it has taken off quickly. “I made a proposal to our council, attended a handful of council meetings and finally got approval,” David tells PTBOCanada. “The council lent us the funds to buy what we needed, and myself and a handful of friends put the rink together. We formed a team of volunteers, put a Facebook page together, and the support for the project has been incredible.”

The Community Rink in Havelock (January 1st, 2019)

The goal was $5,000 to fund the rink and nearly $4,000 has already been raised—you can donate online here. David, who owns Belmont Custom Cabinetry in Havelock Belmont Methuen (HBM), says he has been inspired by how this has galvanized the community. The hashtag #HBMProud and social media was used to inspire action, and community members have been stepping up to donate money and time.

“I have a passion for community building, our municipality and a drive to increase economic development, tourism and culture in our region,” David tells PTBOCanada. “The support for the Havelock Community Outdoor Rink just goes to show what can happen when people work together to accomplish a goal.”

Just recently they announced a sponsorship from the Dairy Farmers of Ontario and their Recharge With Milk program…

The HBM municipal council graciously lent the Havelock Outdoor Rink Committee the funds to build the rink, which they have 18 months to repay in full—and donations are coming in here by businesses, community members and people from across Canada that go towards construction, operating costs and maintenance.

All this goes to show that if you believe in the power of community—no matter the size of the town—and you inspire ideas and rally others around your cause, anything can happen. Including building a magical outdoor rink.

For more information about the project, email the organizers here.

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Cuz Hey, Animals Like Unwrapping Presents Too...

The Riverview Park & Zoo in Peterborough posted adorable pictures of its animals unwrapping presents on their Facebook page.

“The Animal Care Staff added a festive theme to their animal enrichment activities this week,” the zoo says. “Our animal enrichment program plays an important role in our animal wellness plan, providing stimulation to enhance the psychological and physiological wellness of our animals.”

And, of course, the cat unwraps the box and ends up in the box…

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A Snowy Owl On Christmas Eve At Peterborough Airport

[UPDATE: December 28th: After seeing our post, Peterborough Airport says in a tweet that the snowy owl lives at the airport every winter. “She can be seen perched all over the airport and stays well clear of the runways.”]

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ORIGINAL POST

We’re not sure if this snowy owl was at the airport hoping for a flight to warmer parts but whatever the case naturalist Drew Monkman was there and caught beautiful pictures of the bird there on Christmas Eve.

Photo by Drew Monkman

Drew says he first saw the adult white owl perched on a red-roof building adjacent to Flying Colours at the very end of Brealey Drive, and then it flew to the runway taxiway sign where Drew caught these amazing pics.

Photo by Drew Monkman

Drew tells PTBOCanada the pictures “were taken with a 600mm lens and then cropped, and photographed from Flying Colours parking lot.”

Photo by Drew Monkman

[UPDATE No. 2]: Drew also snapped another picture of the owl more recently at the airport…

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100 Women Peterborough Raises Nearly $50,000 In First Year Of Existence

The 100 Women Peterborough group announced at their final meeting of 2018 that they raised more than $13,000 for New Canadians Centre in under an hour, bring their total raised for organizations to nearly $50,000 for their first year.

The contribution from 100 Women Peterborough will help to fund the New Canadians Centre Youth Group at NCC, a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to supporting immigrants, refugees, and other newcomers to become full and equal members of Canadian society.

Photo courtesy 100 Women Peterborough

"Students from all of the high schools in Peterborough participate in the New Canadians Centre Youth Group,” says Yvonne Lai, Director of Community Development.

“It's a unique space where local students and newcomers come together to support one another academically, share experiences, connect and grow. This generous donation of $13,000 from 100 Women Peterborough not only helps to close the gap on the funding cut to this program, it's a powerful endorsement from our community that integrating our local and newcomer youth is vital for the continued growth and vibrancy of our community."

Cheque presented to Carol Lawless (middle) from New Canadians Centre

HOW 100 WOMEN PETERBOROUGH WORKS

-> Members commit to donate $100 at each of the four events hosted throughout the year. The aim is to help women learn about the multitude of different causes in the community, help people in need, and join other like-minded women to empower and multiply the impact of their contributions.

-> 100% of the funds raised by the membership will be donated to four non-profit organizations determined by the membership throughout the year.

-> In their first year, 100 Women Peterborough has managed to increase their membership to well over the original goal of 100 members that contribute to different organizations on a quarterly basis.

-> The collective donations throughout the first year were able to impact four organizations chosen (Hospice Peterborough, Youth Unlimited, Warming Room Community Ministries and New Canadians Centre) significantly, with close to $50,000 donated.

-> Women that are interested in joining the group are encouraged to reach out via the website here.

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Peterborough Police Canines K9 Wolfe And K9 Hal Days From Retirement

After serving the community for the past five years, K9 Wolfe (partner Constable Tim Fish) and K9 Hal (partner Constable Sam McCullum) are retiring from our K9 Unit at the end of this year, Peterborough Police Service says in a Facebook post.

“In just a few more days they will retire from active duty and begin enjoying retirement living inside their partner's home,” police say.

Police thank Constable McCullum and K9 Hal along with Constable Fish and K9 Wolfe for their dedication and hard work in serving Peterborough, Lakefield and Cavan Monaghan.

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Instagram Worthy Alleys & Urban Spaces Of Peterborough Perfect For Photo Shoots

Peterborough has awesome alleys and cool urban spaces downtown that make perfect backdrops for photo shoots for Instagram. Here are just a few great options that Rob “Electric City” James captured on a recent trek around town…

Location: Water & Hunter Street

Location: Water & Hunter Street

Location: Water & Hunter Street

Location: Chambers & Hunter St. W.

Location: Chambers Street at Hunter

Location: Charlotte & George Street

Location: Hunter & Aylmer Street

Location: Hunter & Aylmer Street (reverse angle)

Location: Water & Hunter Street

Location: Water & Hunter Street

Location: Hunter Street facing Simcoe Bus Terminal

Location: Near the corner of George & Hunter Street

Know any other cool urban spaces and hidden alleys? Email here!

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OHL And AAA Petes To Honour Steve Richey For Contributions To Local Hockey

The OHL Peterborough Petes and Peterborough Minor Hockey Council “AAA” Petes have announced they will honour late scout, coach and mentor Steve Richey, who passed away on April 13th at age 54 as the result of a heart attack.

To honour their former scout, the OHL Petes have renamed their Education Fund Scholarship/Bursary Award after Steve. The award is given annually to a graduating PMHC player.

“Steve was a wonderful and valued part of our scouting staff for numerous years,” says Petes General Manager Mike Oke. “He was highly regarded in and made invaluable contributions to the Peterborough hockey community, and as such, we’re honoured to recognize him by renaming this award.”

Steve Richey

Steve gave back tirelessly to the sports community throughout his life, acting as a coach and mentor to many. In addition, The Peterborough Minor Hockey Council “AAA” Petes will honour Steve by re-naming their annual Midget tournament the Steve Richey Tournament of Champions.

“Every January for the past 12 years, the PMHC has hosted some of the top minor and major Midget teams, featuring players who are eligible for the OHL Priority Selection, that come to showcase their talent and skills for scouts,” says PMHC President and Petes alumnus Mike Martone. “We feel, as an organization, that it’s only fitting to rename our tournament in honour of Steve, who played his minor hockey in Peterborough, played in the OHL, and scouted for the Petes.”

The 2019 Steve Richey Tournament of Champions take place January 17th to 20th, 2019. For more information, click here.

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