MYR : Former Leukemia Patient visited the Colorado Springs Children’s Hospital construction site

Sturgeon Electric welcomed former leukemia patient, Carter, to the Colorado Springs Children's Hospital construction site.

On Wednesday, January 17, Sturgeon Electric crews welcomed former leukemia patient, Carter Gates, as the first child to visit the new Colorado Springs Children's Hospital, scheduled to open in early 2019. Carter underwent over three and a half years of treatment at Children's Hospital in Denver. Today, he is cancer free and raising money and awareness for the hospital through the Patient Ambassador program and through his 'Crafts for Cancer' project which has brought in over $6,500 to benefit the hospital.

Carter was able to get an in-depth look at this phase of construction. Denver Bronco's cheerleaders joined in touring the facility and cheered on Carter as he acted as the signal person to the crane operator. He was able to see the crane fly in steel beams to men aligning the structure - much like putting together a Lego building. He enjoyed the spectacular view of the mountains that patients undergoing treatment will be seeing from the future Children's Hospital Cancer Center.

Carter was very enthusiastic about the work being done at the new Children's Hospital in Colorado Springs and the opportunities that it will offer local patients. During his treatment, Carter spent countless hours on the road from Colorado Springs to Denver and often felt ill for those commutes. The new facility will provide local treatment to children south of the Denver metro area.

Sturgeon Electric is providing all electrical work for the new construction project including new emergency generators, power, lighting and low voltage systems. Power systems that can be immediately backed up are especially important for this project. It is essential that the critical power systems come back online seconds after a loss of utility power. During the preconstruction process, the team mapped out critical areas important for backup - for example, ORs and direct patient care areas are high priorities for backup generators.

Carter was part of the 2017 Patient Ambassadors program with the Children's Hospital. This group of young patients raise awareness by sharing their medical stories through interviews, presentation and events. The site visit to the Colorado Springs Children's Hospital was a Patient Ambassador event - giving Carter the opportunity to share his journey and be the first child to step foot in the new hospital.

Learn more about the Patient Ambassador Program.

Carter is a Denver Broncos fan, loves building Legos and constructed an extravagant treehouse in his yard with his father and grandfather. When he grows up, Carter wants to become an architect or a doctor.

Learn more about Carter here.

See this story on News Channel 13.