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On January 17, 2019, 3-year-old Charlotte Mantha died from complications of the flu, which had affected her liver and her brain. Her parents, Nancy Bouchard and Nicolas Mantha, were of course devastated, but determined to ensure that something positive would result from this tragic event. With the co-operation of the Gatineau Health Foundation, they established the Charlotte Mantha Endowment Fund, geared to improving the breadth and quality of paediatric care for Outaouais children, both now and for generations still to come. You can find the details of this fund here:

http://www.fondationsantegatineau.ca/where-do-your-donations-go/charlotte-mantha-endowment-funds/

The fund also has a Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/FondsdedotationCharlotteMantha/

One of the most urgent funding priorities is the establishment of a paediatric hospital for west Quebec, analogous to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa. CHEO is already a world-class hospital, situated in a sprawling hospital complex on Smyth Road, right in the Elmvale Acres neighbourhood where I grew up, went to school, made friends and still have many family and friendly ties. Who hasn't heard of Ronald McDonald House? Or the Teddy Bears' Picnic?

Outaouais children who are seriously ill are presently treated at CHEO. But that's one more river to cross and for now, one more checkpoint to cross as well! The following article that appeared in Le Droit in October outlines some of the issues:

https://www.ledroit.com/actualites/le-fonds-charlotte-mantha-est-cree-f9817a8cc97ac35577d8295f862ac4ad

This is a cause that is very dear to my heart. In August of 2012, I remember standing at a window of a room on the maternity floor of the Hull Hospital, shortly after my second grandchild was born. Looking out, I saw something rather rare: a double rainbow.

Ça va aller. Maybe not for Charlotte, but for countless Outaouais children out there, as well as those yet to be born.