Support Gavin’s Fight Against Leukemia

On October 27th, 2024 after visiting the ER with our son Gavin, we received a diagnosis that no parent ever wants to hear or ever dreams they will hear - Gavin’s little body is battling Leukemia - ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA (ALL).

The first two weeks after diagnosis were spent at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital where Gavin underwent surgery to install a port, received initial chemotherapy treatments and many other medications, and endured countless tests, including a painful bone marrow biopsy. Gavin accepted all of these new and scary challenges with immense courage.

Our brave boy is 8 years old and is facing a long battle of intense chemotherapy, regular lumbar punctures, blood tests, transfusions and who knows what other challenges may arise. For example, a surprise that came up within this first month of treatment is high blood sugar levels, which is side effect from the daily steroids being given to stop the cancer cells from multiplying. We now have to add diabetes treatment to our daily lives and Gavin has to receive insulin, which has been incredibly challenging for him. No kid wants to get poked, especially multiple times a day. Either one of these diagnoses is life changing for anyone, let alone both in the span of two weeks.

Gavin will receive around 9 months of chemotherapy as well as being immuno-compromised throughout treatment. This means Megan will be off work to care for Gavin. Mike (myself) will continue to work, but having been switched from salary to hourly during this time and leaving for the many treatments and appointments will affect our main source of income immensely. We also have Gavin’s sister, Parker (10) to get back home. She’s been living with her grandparents while we’ve been working through all of the new challenges and routines to adjust to our new normal.

Our oncology team has recommended Megan be off work for an entire year to care for Gavin while he fights this incredibly hard and long battle. Every dollar will lessen our financial worries and ensure we can be there with Gavin every step of the way. Any support will mean more than the world to us and Gavin, thank you so much!