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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Katie Hart is sweet as a lamb and tenacious as a lion. Born with cystic fibrosis, she has spent all eight years of her young life managing, treating and coping with the disease.

Katie Hart, 8, and her father Rob Hart proudly display a $41,000 cheque Katie accepted on behalf of the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada at RCMP headquarters Friday morning. Katie, who was born with cystic fibrosis, will be granted her wish to attend an Edmonton Oilers game and meet the team in December. The RCMP G Division has held an annual charity golf tournament for the past 13 years, funds from which have always gone to the Children's Wish Foundation, Alberta and NWT chapter. Organizer Ken Morrison said the RCMP, along with local businesses and community members, have raised over $300,000 for the foundation since the tournament's inception. - Galit Rodan/NNSL photo

According to Cystic Fibrosis Canada, CF is a complex, multi-system disease, which primarily affects the lungs and digestive system. There is no cure but medical advances have done much to prolong the life expectancy of those affected.

A strict regimen of antibiotics, enzymes and vitamins adds up to about 40 pills each day. Then there are the puffers and the physiotherapy, including the chest claps to loosen the build-up of mucus in her lungs and the regular visits to her doctor in Edmonton. She really, really dislikes the breathing tests where she is asked to keep exhaling long after she feels the last of her breath has left her lungs, and she makes a face at the mention of the blood tests too. Still, she rarely complains, said her father Rob.

"She certainly is a wonderful person, how she does it all," her father said, admiringly.

Keeping up with the demands of the disease is certainly a challenge but Katie is more interested in the challenges she sets for herself. She plays soccer and recently tied for second place in her age group at the 2 km NWT school cross-country championships held in Behchoko. She has played hockey since she was four and scored her first hat trick this year. She is aiming for the NHL.

For now, though, she is filled with anticipation as she awaits a family trip to Edmonton to watch her favourite team play in December.

Katie is the very excited recipient of a wish granted to her by the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada, Alberta and NWT chapter. She has never been to an NHL game and, after debating the matter for years, meeting the Edmonton Oilers won out over meeting a Disney TV star or going to Disney World.

"I think I've always just really wanted to go see a hockey game and I think I've always wanted to see my favourite team play, so I think somehow that came across to my mind that I want that to be my wish," said Katie.

It was a tough decision but one that would likely make any Canadian parent swell with pride. Move over Selena Gomez, and make way for Sam Gagner, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, Katie's favourite players.

Complications from her cystic fibrosis meant that Katie had to be delivered in Edmonton. When the Edmonton Oilers reached the Stanley Cup finals in 2006, Katie was three and just old enough to start taking note of the different teams. She recognized Edmonton as her place of birth and that was it. The rest of her family cheer for the Senators.

Katie was wearing her Katie-sized I Love Oilers hockey T-shirt on Friday when she and Rob arrived at the RCMP building to accept a $41,000 check on behalf of the Children's Wish Foundation, signed by Staff Sgt. Ken Morrison and Const. Todd Scaplen of the Yellowknife RCMP. For the past 13 years, Morrison has organized a charity golf tournament to raise funds for the Children's Wish Foundation. Recently renamed the Chris Worden Memorial Golf Tournament in honour of Const. Chris Worden, who was killed in the line of duty in Hay River in 2007, the tournament has raised over $300,000 in support of the foundation, said Morrison. All monies donated in Alberta and the NWT are used to fulfill the wishes of children within those provinces.

Friday, however, was the first time a wish recipient had ever been on hand to receive the cheque from the RCMP G Division. It was a significant event for everyone involved.

"It's so important to us that we see our efforts coming back to the North and benefiting a young child from the North," said Morrison.

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