Age: 15 | Oakville, Ontario
- Hobbies and Interests: Drawing, Field Hockey, Hockey, Skiing,
Shopping, Designing - Your Relationship to Childhood Cancer: My sibling had cancer
Experience with Childhood Cancer
Type of cancer that has affected me or my family: Leukaemia, Bone cancer and Lung cancer
Number of years on treatment: Alex was on treatment for 10 months for his bone and lung cancer, went into remission for 7 months and then was rediagnosed with leukaemia which he fought against for 3 months before dying.
Number of celebrated years off treatment: 7 months off treatment for remission
Number of months or years Bereaved: 18 months
My toughest challenge with childhood cancer: My toughest challenge with childhood cancer was the fact that I couldn't do anything to help Alex get better, I could only try to make him feel better. I was also in a stage in my own life, as a teenager where I needed my parents but they weren't there a lot which wasn't their fault. I'm definitely not complaining but it was also important that my brother Ben and I had to try to be as unselfish as possible.
Describe some great things that have come about through your journey of childhood cancer. We've become a part of this great circle of friends- The Coast to Coast team. I've got to meet all sorts of famous athletes and my dad even got to be on a TV show where we met Phil Esposito. I've been able to learn about myself, about others, what friendship really means. A big part of my life- the Bal de Neige came about because of cancer.
Describe your Best Day: My best day is hard to pin point, my best memories are much more accurate of Alex and I. I really loved just staying home with him and we would put together puzzles and drink hot chocolate. Christmas at the cottage was really happy- we had a massive Toblerone bar and we made fondue. Swimming in the ocean in South Carolina and having dolphins swim right up to us. Alex threw me and my parents a surprise party. Watching Adam play with his band Tantrum at the Tour for Kids 2008.
Tell us about your Worst Day: My worst day is much easier to decide on. It was a school night that our friends Tracey and Joanne drove Ben and I to SickKids to visit. That night my parents and Alex told Ben and I that Alex was diagnosed as terminally ill and had three options to choose from. He could go through more treatments and a bone marrow transplant in the hope that he would get better, he could take chemo pills which would give him about 8 months to live or he do nothing which would give him about 3 months to live. Alex and my parents had already decided on the second one. I remember I just feeling too much and my teeth were chattering and I just hugged Alex until we had to go. I cried that whole night but I refused to cry in front of Alex. I wanted him to think that I still believed he could make it which I did believe. The reason that this is my worst day and not the day he died is because it is the worst feeling in the world, being told that someone that you love, who is still alive will be taken from you soon. It is much easier to accept when they are dead.
Tell us what Coast to Coast Against Cancer means to me: Coast to Coast is about having that feeling of happiness and belonging and love and sharing it with others. It is a place where healing can happen both for kids with cancer and for those grieving for a loss. Coast to Coast holds memories for me, some sad but mostly happy. It is the place where I feel most myself.
Tell us what your message is to our riders, volunteers, sponsors and all Canadians: Riders: Your journeys on the road are parallel to those of the kids who are sick- There are peaks and valleys and friends who help you along the way. The physical effort is only half the battle… mental positivity takes you to the finish line. Thank you for putting so much effort in, raising money and on your bikes. Volunteers: You are the reason that this Foundation is here, the reason that people have the opportunities to heal and make new friends and for millions of dollars to be raised. Thank you for all the grunt work that you put in. Sponsors: You're sponsorship is money well spent. Your donations of products, time, money, volunteers and riders is helping us along the way to a cancer free world and many happy children and families. Canadians: We all have the ability to make a difference and that doesn't mean money necessarily but there are many ways and reasons to do something about a disease that could impact you just as easily as it has impacted the 1700 other children in Canada.
