SickKids marks 150 years this year. How has the Toronto hospital played a role in your life?

This year, SickKids is marking 150 years of helping families across Canada and around the globe.

The Hospital for Sick Children opened on April 3, 1875, when the first ever patient, Maggie, a three-year-old, was treated for a scalded arm. The hospital, which had only six iron cots at the time, has now become a world-renowned hospital for pediatric care.

The hospital was first opened in Toronto by Elizabeth McMaster who wanted to find a way to prevent the death of children.

McMaster, with a group of like-minded women, opened the hospital on a rented property “for the admission and treatment of all sick children,” regardless of their financial condition, SickKids said on its website.

Since then, the hospital has contributed to many other historical moments, including establishing the Nutritional Research Laboratory, which led to the development of a baby cereal called Pablum in 1918, and opening one of the first intensive care units in North America exclusively for critically-ill newborn and premature babies in 1968.

Among other public figures, Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, who is a SickKids ambassador, shared a special video on the eve of its 150th anniversary, praising the hospital and its employees.

“Some of the best people I’ve ever met work at this foundation,” he said in the video.

Has SickKids played an important role in your life? CTV News is looking for people from communities across Canada to share their stories about their time at the hospital.

Tell us your story by emailing us at torontonews@bellmedia.ca with your name, general location and phone number in case we want to follow up. Your comments may be used in a CTV News story.