For Celia Lau, the value of the research at B.C. Children’s Hospital is not hard to measure. She sees it every day in the face of her vibrantly healthy 10-year-old son, Justin.
Without a personalized genetic treatment developed at the hospital’s research institute, Justin may not have survived his illness.
Lau gave birth to her first child, Cameron, in 2004. Cameron was a full-term, six pound, 11 ounce baby who appeared healthy and perfect in every way. But shortly after going home, Cameron developed white patches on his tongue. The diagnosis was thrush, a yeast infection that was successfully treated. When frequent colds followed, his mother thought nothing of it: Babies get sick.
“I wasn’t worried until his condition began to deteriorate and I brought him to B.C. Children’s emergency.”
