Regina paramedics make wishes come true for one Saskatchewan child

A sick kid in Saskatchewan is going to have their wish come true thanks to a group of health-care workers.

Recently, the Regina Paramedics with Heart (PWH), a non-profit organization run by local paramedics, reached their $10,000 fundraising goal for the Saskatchewan Chapter of Make-A-Wish Canada and their new Local Heroes campaign.

Read more:

• Health-care workers highlight ‘critical’ issues in emergency rooms across Sask.
• Regina kids have fun and learn about health care at Teddy Bear Bash
• ‘Shortage of paramedics entering EMS as a career in Sask.’: SHA

Jenna Davis is a primary care paramedic with Regina EMS and president of PWH. She said the team was ecstatic when they reached their goal.

“Being able to grant a kid a wish and grant them something that they look forward to in their life just makes us all super happy,” she said.

The group works with sick kids often, and typically sees them on their worst days. They hope the wish provides a bit of comfort not only to the child, but their families.

“Sometimes a wish is the only thing the kids are looking forward to. We just hope that the money goes towards a kid who desperately needs a wish,” Davis said.

Paramedics with Heart do a number of community engagement and educational events, like the Teddy Bear Bash, where children can bring in their “sick” or “injured” toys to get checked out by the paramedics. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

The process of selecting a child is still in its early stages for Make-A-Wish Canada, but Davis hopes the group can be connected with the child.

“If we’re granted to meet the kid, that would make us all very happy, and very proud,” she said.

The average cost of a wish is $10,000; the group exceeded that goal with an extra $905 donated.

The Local Heroes campaign is a first of its kind in Saskatchewan. PWH hope that other organizations will rise to the challenge.

“I think this sets the bar for Make-A-Wish, especially here in southern Saskatchewan, and we’ve learned that there are many kids, just in this area alone, that need a wish,” Davis said.

While the group faced some challenges and uncertainty along the way, Davis said it was the generosity of others that got them to the finish line.

“People amaze me about how much they are willing to donate and how much they’re willing to do for charities like this,” she said.

Enterprise, a car rental company, also helped the group achieve their goal after a big donation of $4,000 to the campaign.

Stacie Lawson, Jada Yee and Jenna Davis pose with the cheque from PWH for Make-A-Wish Canada. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

Wishes are medicine

According to Stacie Lawson, manager and development with Make-A-Wish Canada, Saskatchewan Chapter, 165 kids in Saskatchewan are waiting for their wishes to come true.

Paramedics with Heart visit schools to teach youth about EMS and offer CPR training. The group visited Southey Robert School to educate its students. (Jenna Davis/submitted)

Paramedics with Heart

Paramedics with Heart is a non-profit organization that started in 2006 and is made up of 19 local paramedics, four of whom hold executive roles in the group.

According to its website, the group’s mission is “to enhance paramedics’ quality of life through professional and community collaboration.”

Davis said one of the main priorities for the group is education.

“We feel like not everybody understands what we do as paramedics, so we find that we need to kind of get out there and educate the public a little bit more,” she said.

Paramedics with Heart volunteers at their Teddy Bear Bash event last summer. Jenna Davis (second from right) said this is a big fundraising event for the group. (Jenna Davis/submitted)

Read more:

• Health-care workers highlight ‘critical’ issues in emergency rooms across Sask.
• Regina kids have fun and learn about health care at Teddy Bear Bash
• ‘Shortage of paramedics entering EMS as a career in Sask.’: SHA