Liam & The Honorary Elves Coming XMAS 2023

Fantastic Friend Name:  Liam

Age: 8

Fantastic Friend(s) & Abilities: Brave, kind and resilient. Liam spreads joy and happiness wherever he goes.

Arch Nemesis: Cystic Fibrosis, a disease which causes the body to produce thick, sticky mucus that causes problems in the lungs, pancreas, and other organs.

Recent/Most Memorable Battles: Liam started a new medication called Trikafta in Sept 2022, and is doing amazing. Liam has also been asked to give the SALUTE AT THE 150TH RCMP MUSICAL RIDE SEPT 21ST. Liam had small setback in December 2021 saw him admitted to the hospital for several weeks with an infection called Pseudomonas, which required several rounds of IV therapy. Liam received five different IVs during this scary time.

Favourite Superheroes/Mentors: Hulk, Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Man and The Flash, 4a Team at Sick Kids, Dr. Sharkawy & His Grandpa, Auston Matthews, John Tavares

Hobbies & Interests: Liam loves going to the park with his friends, playing with all the neighbors, playing with his Lego, and watching movies, Spending time with his family, running, watching hockey, playing basketball, changing the world!!!! Doing events for SickKids

Sidekicks: Warrior Mom (Deana), Warrior Nanny (Marianne). Chloee the Dog, Squeaks the Hamster, Jonathan & family, Dante, all of his Sick Kids team of doctors and nurses (4a Staff), and all of his amazing family, supporters, and friends but mostly his grandpa who he knows is looking down on him.

Fantastic Friend’s message to the world: Never Give Up Hope,  BE KIND, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING THAT YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO.

Fantastic Friend Name: Emily

Age: 6

Fantastic Friend(s) & Abilities: Her friendliness and courage and ability to think about Christmas all year long.

 
Arch Nemesis: Hypo Mobility which means her joints pop out easily. She has pronation in her ankles which means they curl in a lot. 

Recent/Most Memorable Battles: Lots of difficult physical therapy. She has to wear a patch to combat her lazy eye.
Hobbies & Interests: Barbie, colouring and drawing…. including the use of stickers (of course) and watching movies especially Frozen and Moana. Yellow is her favourite colour and loves celebrations – did we mention she loves Christmas? 

Sidekicks: Warrior Mom (Meaghan)

Fantastic Friend’s message to the world: Be yourself! Keep smiling!!




 

 Fantastic Friend Name: Rio 

Age: 19 Months

Fantastic Friend(s) & Abilities: Rio is a brave and he can withstand pain. He also can eat in his sleep! 

Arch Nemesis: Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) stage 3. This is a very serious condition usually found in premature babies and happens when tissue in the large intestine gets inflamed causing severe gastrointestinal problems. 

Recent/Most Memorable Battles: He battles through the difficult physical therapy on a daily basis.  

Hobbies & Interests: Rio loves bubbles, Cocomelon toys with lights and sounds and Rio loves playing with his 2 older brothers.

Sidekicks: Warrior Mom (Staci), Warrior Siblings 

Fantastic Friend’s message to the world: Never give up on your dreams. Believe in yourself and work hard to achieve your goals. Remember that every obstacle is an opportunity to learn and grow. Keep a positive attitude and always remember that you are capable of achieving great things. Always be kind and compassionate to others, and never forget to share your joy and happiness with those around you. You are the future, and you have the power to make a positive impact in this world. Even when things may feel tough, always remember that you are strong, brave, and loved. You are a fighter who can overcome anything that comes your way. Keep smiling and holding onto hope because better days are ahead of you. We are all rooting for you and sending you lots of love and positivity.

 Fantastic Friend Name: Madison

Age: 26

Fantastic Friend(s) & Abilities: CdLS (Cornelia de Lange Syndrome) Warrior. Making people smile,
giving hugs, a wicked sense of humour, a great memory, Staying safe and keeping others safe,
and good organisational skills. She is a multi-sport, Special Olympics athlete and a dancing queen!

Arch Nemesis Ableism, ignorance, and exclusion.

Recent/Most Memorable accomplishments: Standing in front of a crowd and speaking! Going
off to sleepover camp. Performing on Stage. Competing at sports tournaments.

Favourite Friends/Mentors: Her Sisters, Sydney and Nicole.

Hobbies & Interests: Maddy has been a very reliable paper delivery person for 7 years. She makes beaded bookmarks, key chains, and phone charms which she sells or gives to friends. She participates in Swimming, Basketball, Soccer, Softball and Track and Field at the Special Olympics. She loves to dance and performs onstage. She loves bike riding, music, spending time with friends and family, puzzles, games, reading and YouTube.

Sidekicks: Warrior Mom (Elaine), 

Fantastic Friend’s message to the world: Some people with disabilities may need extra time and patience, or need things adapted for accessibility, but they are capable and strong and smart.

 Fantastic Friend Name: Noor

Age: 9

Fantastic Friend(s) & Abilities: He has the ability to read people and can make anyone a friend with his charm. His problem solving, and determination will see him through.   

Arch Nemesis: Hattersley-Urano Syndrome (a Wolfram Like Syndrome.), an extremely rare condition with only 10 known cases worldwide. Noor is deaf, blind, and unable to walk. Communication is difficult. 

Recent/Most Memorable Battles: Noor was born deaf and developed cataracts at 4 months. He had cataract surgery at six months old. Noor underwent further surgery on his eyes at around 15 months to find out why he couldn’t see as well as he should be able to. We were told that his optic nerves were completely white and atrophied and diagnosed legally blind. Around the same time, he was diagnosed with seven seizure types and intractable epilepsy. At 18 months old, he had cochlear surgery. At 26 months, Noor went into severe DKA, and his blood went septic. He was diagnosed with a rare form of diabetes and spent a week in the PICU at SickKids hospital and over 2 weeks in the hospital in total. Noor’s formal Wolfram-Like diagnosis was in August of 2017. In September of 2018, it was found that Noor had moderate central sleep apnea and a BiPap was prescribed for him. Around the same time he was also diagnosed with scoliosis and Failure to thrive and he had a g-tube placed. He was diagnosed with severe autism in November of 2022

Favourite Friends/Mentors: The many Drs and nurses who battle alongside him and his mom.

Hobbies & Interests: Noor loves balls, lights, music, and his favourite couple of stuffed animals (a snake and a triceratops). He loves going for road trips and shopping. Naps are his favourite time of day and bedtime is never a battle. His condition does not slow him down when he wants to explore and is quite agile with his bum shuffles!  

Sidekicks: Warrior Mom (Rebecca)

Fantastic Friend’s message to the world: Greet each day with a smile and an unstoppable attitude. Nothing is insurmountable.

Fantastic Friend Name: Milayna
Age: 7

Superpower(s) & Abilities: Milayna is super smart and is above average in reading and writing. She brings joy to others with her many talents.

Arch Nemesis: Cerebral palsy which affects the ability to move and maintain balance and posture.

Recent/Most Memorable Battles: Walking is difficult, so Milayna uses braces and a walker to help her walk. She is preparing to do battle in surgery to help her walk.

Favourite Superhero/Mentors: Super Girl

Hobbies & Interests: Milayna loves music, cheerleading and spending time with her friends. She can play guitar, sing, and dance and has a YouTube channel with her twin sister Naya.

Sidekicks: Warrior Mom (Stephanie), Children’s Wish, the nurses, and doctors at SickKids and staff at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Fantastic Friend’s message to the world: Never give up. 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AdventuresofMilaynaandNa-oo6ks

TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@adventuresofmilaynanaya

Instagram: https://instagram.com/adventures_of_milayna_and_naya?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Fantastic Friend Name: Naya
Age: 7

Superpower(s) & Abilities: Naya brings cheer to others with her singing, dancing, and her special jokes.

Arch Nemesis: Complex heart conditions and Omphalocele which is an abdominal wall defect. 

Recent/Most Memorable Battles: Naya suffered a cardiac arrest and stroke at 9 months. She spent the first 15 months of her life at SickKids Hospital before being discharged to Holland Bloorview inpatient rehab for another 2 months. Naya battles often against her condition and has many surgeries ahead of her. 

Favourite Superheroes/Mentors: Warrior Mom (Stephanie), Children’s Wish, SickKids Hospital and Wonder Woman because she reminds her of her late friend Zoe.

Hobbies & Interests: Naya loves to sing and dance and swim. She also loves cheerleading. She has her own YouTube channel with her twin sister Milayna.

Sidekicks: Warrior Mom (Stephanie), Children’s Wish, the nurses and doctors

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Fantastic Friend’s message to the world: Keep positive and smiling!

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AdventuresofMilaynaandNa-oo6ks

TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@adventuresofmilaynanaya

Instagram: https://instagram.com/adventures_of_milayna_and_naya?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Fantastic Friend Name: Andrra
Age: 4

Superpowers & Abilities She spreads happiness to others with her kind heart and loving attitude

Arch Nemesis: Atrial Septal Defect is a hole in the heart between the upper chambers (atria). t/ VSD which is a birth defect of the heart in which there is a hole in the wall that separates the two lower chambers and Mitral Valve Cleft which a cleft in part of the mitral valve of the heart.  

Recent/Most Memorable Battles: Overcoming the fear of visiting doctors and hospitals.

Favourite Friends /Mentors: Ariana, Denis and Tiara

Hobbies & Interests: Andrra loves to swim, draw, dance and do make up!

Sidekicks: Warrior Mom & Dad, Warrior Siblings Vlera and Lura

Fantastic Friend’s message to the world: Never Give Up!