Darwin recently turned 21, graduated high school, rang the end of treatment bell at CHEO and has been accepted into an Academic Assistance for Adults with Developmental Disabilities (AAADD) college program.

What was most exciting about ringing the bell?
I loved seeing all my favourite people from high school virtually on Google Meet. I saw Ms. Russett, and Ms. Coe, and the ladies in the office. All my favourite nurses came too. They helped me learn to count “1-2-3” before I had a needle!

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What are you most looking forward too now that you are 21?
I want to learn how to use a debit card and get a job where I can wear a nametag and a vest. I want to work at Walmart at cash register #7 and at the Apple store.

What will you do in your C.I.C.E. college program?
I will learn to take the bus with my phone, using Google maps.  I want to learn about money math. At college I will see my friends and they have nice lockers.

Any shout outs to friends & family?
Thank you to my mom, she’s The Boss and always came to CHEO with me. The staff on 4 North were awesome. The Fire Safety Officer, Richard, came to teach me the rules about fire safety. I also did a FaceTime with Liam from the Ottawa Fire Dept. about river safety. I loved seeing my CHEO teacher, Ms. Nancy. She’s awesome and I learned to use assistive technology. Every day I wrote a page in my book with Book Creator.