Nine-year-old Chantel Pellerin has dealt with a lot in her short life.
Like most girls her age, Chantel loves spending time with her friends, playing with her two brothers and taking her dog, Brandi, for walks. But there are challenges Chantel faces everyday because of several serious health issues.
She experienced seizures at birth which were brought on by a blood clot in her brain due to a forceps delivery. As a result of these seizures, she now has cerebral palsy. This left Chantel with limited use of her right side, no muscle control in her mouth and very limited speech.
Variety – The Children’s Charity was there to provide Chantel with speech and language therapy. This has helped her strengthen her muscles and learn to develop sounds to form words. The therapy made a big difference in Chantel’s life as she is now better able to communicate with her family and friends and has learned that when she works hard, she can improve.
On Feb. 12 and 13, Variety will present the 45th annual Show of Hearts Telethon, which airs live on Global B.C.
The telethon features 23 hours of concerts and performances by world-renowned entertainers as well as moving and inspirational stories about children helped by Variety.
Visit www.variety.bc.ca for information on the entertainment and the children who will be featured. Tune into the Variety Show of Hearts on Global BC at 7 p.m. on Feb. 12 through 6 p.m. Feb. 13 and call 310-KIDS or visit www.variety.bc.ca to donate.