Inside this week: Manotick Cadets string a bridge across the West Channel of the Rideau River, Page 9.
OttawaSouthWeekender Our weekend papers reach over 169,057 homes in the National Capital Region 6th Year, No. 38, September 19, 2008
Serving Rideau Ward, Osgoode Ward and Riverside South
Priceless
Singing the praises of Hannah Nathan Jahn Weekender Staff
H
annah Walker was an inspiration to those around her recalls her mother, Shelley Saunders. That legacy has survived her passing seven months ago. Hannah's family wants to help others avoid the pain of losing a child — a deeply beloved family member — to heart disease. Their response to their own loss was to release a CD to honour Hannah and donate all proceeds to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Hannah died of cardiomyopathy on February 9 — the very day she was supposed to receive her new heart. People in the area were devastated when they heard the news; most had already heard that Hannah had a heart on the way and were expecting to hear more good news as the day wore on. Her death came just over two months after Hannah showed her first sympstoms that something was wrong. Shelley recalls that her first thought was: "How the heck did this happen? From a kid who never had anything worse than chicken pox. It just doesn't make sense to me." Her sense of loss was crippling. “Life without Hannah is like trying to learn how
Courtesy Photo
PLAYING DOCTOR: Hannah Walker sits in hospital with brothers Matthew and Daniel as she waited for a new heart to arrive. Hannah died in her mother's arms literally hours before she would have received a new heart. Her family has released a CD in her name, with all proceeds going to the Heart and Stroke Foundation to walk again,” she said. “I don’t know how to be me without her.” But there also a flood of happy memories. Shelley describes how Hannah ran her own aesthetics business out of her hospital room in Toronto, recalling the doctors and nurses who made "appointments" to come in and get their nails done.
“She made little bead necklaces for everyone … She played doctor too,” said Shelley. “She had scrubs and a stethoscope. Now that this CD is out, I can picture her up there saying, ‘Do you have a CD? No? I do.’” The idea for the CD came from a man who never knew Hannah, but felt her profound touch after her death.
"It was the day after her funeral and I just couldn't think of anything but Hannah," said her third cousin Derrick Saunders. "So I wrote a poem." That poem — Will You Remember Me? — became a song, which Derrick wanted to get produced. After Shelley added two more poems, the playlist
grew to three songs. Derrick turned to Jason Dahl, a sound engineer who produces Christmas CDs for Hannah's 13-year-old cousin, Stephanie La Rochelle, who sings the lyrics for Hannah's CD. Dahl directed them to Pebble Beach Studios who offered four hours of free recording time.
The CD release party was held at Hannah’s school — St. Joseph Catholic School — in Prescott, on Sept. 10. “I just think it was a great opportunity and I’m honoured to do it because it’s for a great cause,” said La Rochelle. “I sang the three songs while there was a slideshow of pictures of Hannah in the background. It was special.” Shelley says a lot of the credit has to go to Derrick — a person Hannah never knew — who came up with the idea for the CD and has dedicated his time to learning about the girl he never met. “I didn’t know Derrick existed until after my daughter passed away,” she said. “Derrick did wonders; he made it his mission to find out so much about Hannah. I’ve made a new BFF (best friends forever).” Cardiomyopathy — essentially a weakening of the heart muscle — affects approximately one in 100,000 people. Hannah’s heart was operating at six per cent of its normal functionality, preventing adequate blood flow and oxygen from reaching her limbs. That made her weak and faint, which first set off the alarm bells for her family that something was wrong. For learn more about the CD, contact cdforhannah@ hotmail.com.