Bradley and Ashley Pullen, Avery’s parents, wrote this beautiful post for our blog. Thank you for sharing it with us, thank you for organizing such a wonderful event, and thanks as well to your family, friends and community for all the kindness and support.
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[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ur family spent 11 unforgettable days in the NICU at Sunnybrook in January when our daughter Avery was born 12 weeks premature. Our daughter was given the absolute best care by some of the most compassionate professionals. Soon after arriving at Sunnybrook we learned Avery was a very sick baby. She was diagnosed with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension in her lungs, and she did not respond to the medication. Sadly on January 28, 2013, Avery Valerie Pullen passed away.
This is the most devastating thing Bradley and I have ever faced. We never imagined having a preemie baby or, even worse, losing our child. Since January it has been a long and hard journey, but my husband and I have much to be thankful for along the way.
Shortly after losing our Avery we felt the need to give back. We wanted to give back to the place and people that allowed us to have that irreplaceable time with Avery. Without the people at Sunnybrook and their advanced technology these memories would not have been possible. 11 days is such a short time, but Sunnybrook gave us the opportunity to hold our baby, read to her and make unforgettable memories. They allowed us time to get to know our daughter and for that Bradley and I will always be grateful. We were able to stay right in the hospital because we lived far away. This allowed us to spend more time with our daughter and also not have the added expense of a hotel.
We sat down with a plan to organize a family fun day to raise money for the NICU. Our goal was $10,000 to put towards purchasing a neonatal incubator. We were so surprised when we started to plan our special day at how much support and positive feedback we received. So many local businesses were stepping up and either giving large donations or amazing silent auction items.
Our fundraiser day, called “Avery’s Act of Kindness,” was held on June 8, 2013. The sun was shining and at 11 am people started driving down the dirt road. Car after car … we were shocked at the people lining up. The atmosphere that day was phenomenal. So many kids laughing, enjoying the horse drawn wagon rides, and bouncing in the bouncy castle. It was truly breathtaking to see such a small community come together to support each other.
Brad and I will always be so thankful for everyone coming out and helping us make “Avery’s Act of Kindness” such a huge success. At one point we did a count of over 700 people on our home farm! Whether you were enjoying a ride on “Avery’s Way” in the bush, or a home styled hamburger and baked potato, we couldn’t think of a better way to honour our daughter.
“Avery’s Act of Kindness” is about giving back and paying forward. We wanted everyone to know about Sunnybrook’s great NICU because many people don’t even know this amazing place exists. Our family was so excited to find out how much we raised and also completely shocked. On June 8th, 2013 “Avery’s Act of Kindness” raised $41,900! With this amount we will be able to purchase the entire incubator unit ($30,000) and still have $11,900 for the Women and Babies Emergency Fund for NICU families.
We always knew “Avery’s Act of Kindness” would be a success but clearly had no idea just how big. Avery Valerie Pullen had a huge impact on this world in such a short time, and we want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for giving us that time with her.
– Bradley and Ashley Pullen
Beautiful. The kindness and generosity behind this idea would have been inspiring under the best of circumstances, but to know that it came from a place of such a profound (and recent) loss is astounding. Avery certainly has left left mark on the world, thanks in no small part to the strength and character of her amazing parents.