Inspired to give back

It didn’t take long for a beautiful summer afternoon in 2010 to become one that David and Cindy Primrose will never forget. While visiting relatives in BC, their 11-year-old daughter Natalie was out horseback riding when she was thrown to the ground and stepped on by the horse.

Natalie was immediately rushed to the emergency department in Mission—but her injuries were so severe that she needed to be airlifted to BC Children’s Hospital. The family was living in Alberta at the time, and David recalls the moment he received the call at work: “As soon as I heard the word ‘helicopter,’ I realized this wasn’t just a broken arm or dislocated shoulder. I took the first plane to Vancouver for what felt like the longest flight of my life.”

Natalie suffered multiple internal organ injuries and spent the next 12 days receiving critical care at BC Children’s. She was then admitted as an inpatient for a few weeks. While it was a challenging time for the Primroses, they knew there was no better place for their family to be. Natalie’s recovery continued as they returned home to Alberta. After a year of followup care, she could once again live a normal life. But the family’s connection to BC Children’s Hospital didn’t end there.

“While at the hospital, we saw other families who were worse off than we were, so we decided to do what we could to help make a difference in the lives of other families.”

—David Primrose

The Primroses began hosting fundraising dinners and joined the Foundation’s monthly giving program. As Natalie and her younger sister Julia grew older, it gave David and Cindy the opportunity to plan for the future and express their values through a gift in their Will to BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. It was a meaningful decision and easy to do.

“For us, family is important,” Cindy said. “We want people to know the difference they can make in a child’s life, like previous donors did for us, and how their legacy can create a better future.”

Learn more about legacy giving at bcchf.ca/legacy