New Westminster, BC, June 8, 2022 — Get your tickets for Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation’s 50/50 lottery, the most exciting lottery yet! You could win big while supporting care for BC’s most seriously ill and injured patients.
How high will Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation’s 5050 climb?
Their jackpot is already over $21,000. The next winner could be you!
Help Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation’s 5050 Jackpot reach record levels! Michael W., the winner of their last jackpot took home a prize of $53,265. You could be next when they draw on June 30!
Tickets are 10 for $10, 50 for $20 and 250 for $40 (Best value)!
Deadline to purchase tickets is Wednesday June 29, 2022 at 11:59:59 p.m. Enter now for a chance to win big and help Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation. The lucky winner gets half the final jackpot!
Buy tickets today! Tickets must be purchased on their website.
About Royal Columbian Hospital:
From the beginning, Royal Columbian Hospital has stood at the heart of health care in British Columbia. Created by visionary pioneers to provide compassionate care to those building a new province, we have participated in the social and economic changes of British Columbia since 1862. Today, we are one of British Columbia’s busiest hospitals, serving a population of close to two million people. We are a regional referral hospital for cardiac, trauma, neurosciences, high-risk maternity and neonatal intensive care. No other hospital in the province provides all of these services, at this level of care, on one site. We provide the highest level of care to the most critically ill and injured from throughout the province.
A Light at the End of a Tunnel
As a high-risk maternity centre, Royal Columbian provides comprehensive services for both infants, children and their families. As a referral centre for high-risk maternity, RCH delivers 3,000 babies annually – and with the Fraser Health region’s projected population growth, this number is sure to climb. These include pregnancies with co-existing health conditions, those at risk of delivering prematurely, and those diagnosed with severe obstetric complications—like Makayla, whose son, Marcus, was born at 24 weeks and four days, weighing just 755 grams.
Makayla recalls being sick throughout the whole pregnancy. She was in the hospital for a week because she couldn’t keep anything down, and had to be given an IV for nutrition and fluids. Halfway through the second trimester, Makayla underwent a cervical cerclage, a procedure meant to reinforce the cervix that has the potential to open early. Later on, her water broke, and after confirmation, Makayla was on her way to RCH to deliver.
Makayla wasn’t expecting to hear her baby cry once he was born in early January 2021, but when he did, it made his mother so happy—a happiness she still feels to this day.
Makayla received follow-up care while Marcus was intubated and taken to the neonatal intensive care unit, with dad close behind him. The family’s life revolved around the NICU for the next 132 days, going through all kinds of ups and downs and growing an appreciation for the hospital’s neonatal team. The parents didn’t know if he was going to make it or not, and during the first few days, Marcus had several blood transfusions and needed antibiotics due to bleeding around the left side of his brain.
Ten days later, while he was still connected to the ventilator, Makayla was able to hold Marcus for the first time. And a few weeks later, Makayla was happily surprised to see her son off the ventilator and breathing with the help of a less invasive form of breathing support.
Marcus was moved to a crib and was big enough to wear clothes nine weeks after his birth. Marcus was getting stronger and required less medical supports, slowly but surely.
On Vancouver Island, in May, Makayla’s grandfather sadly passed away, but by this point she was comfortable leaving her son in the care of his medical team so she could go and say goodbye. The nurses sent Makayla pictures of Marcus every day.
After a long journey, Marcus was finally able to go home ten days before the start of summer. Five months later, and Makayla has said that her son is doing great. While still having a G-tube, he is eating everything by mouth and is hitting all his milestones.
“Some days you feel like you’re going to be there forever, and it’s never going to end,” she says. “But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I think that was the hardest part for me. I hope sharing my story will help other parents see what the journey is about.”
Discover more about the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation.
*open to BC residents only, must be 19+ to play, BCLC Licence #133017. Actual odds of winning are dependent on the number of tickets sold. Know your limit, play within it.
