About Keto4Kids
Keto 4 Kids! is a multi-disciplinary group of health care professionals including Dietitians, Pharmacists, Registered Nurses, Research Staff, Social Workers, Staff Physicians and Trainees treating children with the Ketogenic Diet. The Ketogenic Diet is an evidenced-based medical treatment for refractory epilepsy which carries a significant financial and time burden. We are uniting together to achieve 3 goals:
• Experience a small piece of what many families go through to administer this treatment;
• Raise awareness about the Ketogenic Diet as a treatment for Drug-Resistant Epilepsy and
• Raise funds for the Ketogenic Diet Program at SickKids.
We will each be putting ourselves into ketosis with a Modified Atkins Ketogenic Diet. We are asking for donations towards our attempt to achieve and sustain ketosis over a two week period. At the same time, we will be raising awareness about the Ketogenic Diet program and its use at the Hospital for Sick Children. We will be doing this challenge for 2-weeks from November 2, 2020 to November 15, 2020. The funds we raise will go to the Patient Amenities Food and Nutritional Supports at SickKids Hospital.
The initial costs to start this medical treatment are sometimes too high for families to afford. The money we raise will be used to support families in starting the ketogenic diet as we do not believe anyone should be limited to being able to afford this effective treatment. The funds will help families purchase the necessary equipment including a digital decimal gram scale, ketostix, containers, the fat supplement, vitamin and mineral supplements, glucostrips and lancets.
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Why raise awareness and funds?
In 2019 the Keto 4 Kids! fundraiser raised $4,635 for the Food and Nutritional supports Fund at SickKids, by sustaining ketosis with a Modified Atkins Ketogenic Diet for 2 weeks.
For many families, this life-changing treatment is inaccessible due to the associated overt (need to buy fresh meat and fish, avoidance of foods with preservatives and high sugar content, need for MCT oil) and hidden costs (inability to eat out easily, need for a scale to weigh all foods to the 10th of a gram, no cake at birthday parties, a lifestyle change for the entire family), as well as the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on these families (such as families affected by lay-offs, experiencing less income with unchanged expenses for their medically complex children).
We estimate the start-up costs for new families to be above $300, in addition to ongoing monthly expenses. With the funds from our last initiative, we have been able to assist several families in acquiring essential materials such as scales, vitamins, MCT oil, formula, ketostix).
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