On March 30, Enfant Soleil announced the projects supported in 2026. With great joy, the Maison Papillon Enfants et Familles team wishes to express its deep gratitude to Enfant Soleil for their generous donation of $138,500. Thanks to this first contribution from the Foundation, we will be able to acquire Umano Medical expandable beds, Stryker pediatric cribs, and further develop our music therapy tools and services in preparation for the opening of Maison Papillon in 2027.
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EQUIPMENT
For children in palliative care, a bed becomes much more than simple equipment: it is a place of comfort, safety, and emotional connection. These pieces of equipment will transform their daily experience by providing a more humane, safer environment better suited to their physical and emotional needs. From a psychological standpoint, a bed that “grows with the child” upholds their dignity, prevents the feeling of being “confined” to an inadequate bed, and restores trust in an adaptive environment.
The Ook Snow ALL bed, with its adjustable height and width, allows children to move freely, welcome a loved one by their side, and benefit from optimal comfort while reducing risks associated with movement and transfers. The Stryker crib, on the other hand, offers full visibility and accessibility, allowing younger children to remain in a calm and reassuring environment at all times, without abrupt interruptions to care.
Beyond the dignity restored through physical comfort, these beds also facilitate closeness between the child and their parents or siblings: being able to stay side by side, hold hands, rock, or share a story becomes more natural and reassuring. This strengthens emotional bonds, eases anxiety, and nurtures a sense of serenity in a context already heavy with emotional stress.
MUSIC THERAPY
The music therapy project aims to acquire a range of adapted and traditional musical instruments, combining electronic, analog, and vibroacoustic technologies. These instruments will provide inclusive access to sound creation and immersion, promoting relaxation and emotional regulation, while restoring to children a means of expression often lost due to illness. By interacting with sound through gaze, breath, or gesture, they regain a sense of autonomy and control—fundamental to self-esteem.
Music serves as a powerful non-verbal communication tool, especially important when a child can no longer speak or move. Parents can then reconnect through emotion, resonance, and silence. These sessions become moments of light within an otherwise demanding medical journey: seeing a child smile, create, or direct sound with their gaze becomes a moment of grace. For siblings, these sessions offer shared experiences, reduce feelings of isolation, strengthen family bonds, and create positive memories in a difficult context.
These suspended moments become rituals of presence and tenderness—often the most precious memories within the palliative care journey.
OUR CARE TEAM
Who are the people behind pediatric palliative care? Since Enfant Soleil’s mission is to mobilize the entire Quebec population so that our children have access to the best healthcare across the province—while also supporting the organizations that care for them—we asked our board members, Sophia Florez (pediatric clinical nurse) and Dr. Geneviève Gaëtan (pediatrician), to explain what it means to care for a sick child by answering the following questions:
- What is the most beautiful gift you receive in your day?
- If you were an object in a child’s room, what would you be?
- What is your secret superpower for “softening” difficult moments?
- If your care bag were a magical one, what unusual item would we find inside?