Rani Senghera, and her twin boys Jora and Kesar flipped the switch to light up the critical care tower at Surrey Memorial Hospital on Thursday night (Dec.8).
The light display is for the foundation’s latest fundraising campaign called ‘Shine.’
Jane Adams, CEO of Surrey Hospitals Foundation, said the animated light show will have messages of thanks in different languages, and will incorporate seasonal images as well as donor names. The light display will run until Jan. 6, celebrating Diwali, Gurupurab, Hanukkah and Christmas.
It will also celebrate the foundation’s 30th anniversary.
The focus of the light display and fundraising campaign is to shine a light on the need for more youth and children’s health services in Surrey, Adams said. With Surrey being the fastest-growing city in Western Canada, according to the 2021 census, it is important that the number of available health services matches the population growth, she added.
Senghera said investing in children and youth health services at Surrey Memorial Hospital will help remove anxiety and fear for parents, adding they will be reassured that their child is receiving the best care possible while staying close to home.
This was not a luxury that she had.
Senghera’s twin boys were born in B.C. Women’s Hospital in Vancouver on Feb. 4, 2013. She and her husband live in Surrey and would have preferred to seek care closer to home, but due to the lack of specialized doctors, she had to drive to B.C. Women’s for the care that she needed.
Her boys were born prematurely at 29 weeks, weighing around three pounds each. They were transferred to the NICU at B.C. Children for the first four weeks of their lives before being transferred again. The boys were transferred to Royal Columbian Hospital because the Sengheras lived in the Fraser Health Authority region.
After another few weeks, they were finally transferred closer to home, to Surrey Memorial Hospital. Instead of being transferred to the NICU at Surrey Memorial, they were transferred to pediatrics.
“We just weren’t ready for the extra anxiety of having them in pediatrics as they weren’t receiving the care they should have received,” Rani said.
Her boys were discharged from the hospital on April 10, a week before their due date.
Even a week and a half after delivering her twins via C-Section, she had to drive into Vancouver to see her doctor. If she could receive care closer to home, at Surrey Memorial Hospital, it would have removed a lot of stress.
Every dollar donated to the ‘Shine’ campaign will go towards children and youth health services at Surrey Memorial Hospital. The foundation’s goal is to raise $400,000. The first $200,000 will be matched dollar for dollar by the Vancouver-based real estate and developer Peterson.
To learn more about the campaign, visit Surrey Hospitals Foundation website, click here.
anna.burns@surreynowleader.com
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