Glorious triumphs

There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the toothy grins of newly-minted My Magic Hands magicians. Their smiles remind us why this program is so powerful. 

For the past three weeks, Magicana has been delivering a special version of My Magic Hands for the clients at Bloorview Kids Rehab. Nine clients met with our magicians twice a week, for three consecutive weeks. In between sessions, the Bloorview magicians also practiced their magic under the supervision of Bloorview's team of occupational and speech therapists. Today was their Big Show and Graduation.

The clients are referred to the program by their therapists with specific goals to reach. During the course, each magician chooses tricks to help in areas such as memory, speech or fine motor skills. Every magician has a unique situation and is works to overcome their own specific challenges. Some of them work from a wheelchair, or some may only have the use of one hand. So you can imagine, even the simplest steps - such as taking a rope out of a pocket or spreading a deck of cards - require our Bloorview magicians to work hard to problem-solve and most importantly, practice, practice and practice! 

And did they ever!

Today, our performers not only performed in front of a group of 50 people, they also stole the hearts of the audience. Each Bloorview magician got up in front of the audience and pulled off their magic with style and grace. Of course, they were nervous and had lots of stage fright, but they all met the challenge and triumphantly walked off stage as "magicians". With the help of some of Bloorview's technical wizardry, everyone had a great view of the performers projected on screen. One magician even sent in her performance by video because she was discharged just before The Big Show and was settling back into school.


It was particularly moving to have one young magician spontaneously thank the audience for attending and then singled out her therapists for their help to get her to the stage. When this young lady joined the program, she was struggling with speech goals. Today she spoke so articulately that she moved some of the audience to tears. 

We congratulate all of the magicians for their outstanding work. We also stand in awe of the magical team at Bloorview. The dedication we saw at Bloorview continually inspires!

None of this magic would have been possible without funding support from Slaight Communications. We thank our sponsor for allowing us to share wonder!