Dear Starlight Supporter,
We’ve never met, but I want to sincerely thank you. Yes, you, the person reading this. By supporting Starlight Children’s Foundation Canada, you’ve made a real difference for my daughter who is now battling cancer for the seventh time.
My daughter, Sarah, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2012 when she was just 3 years old. She has since relapsed many times – from 2016 to 2022, and again at the beginning of 2024. Now a teenager, Sarah is still receiving treatment while we wait for a trial.
Seeing my daughter so sick and not knowing how many tomorrows she has is very difficult. Over the past 12 years, Sarah has received many rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, a bone marrow transplant, a stem cell transplant, CAR-T therapies, immunotherapies, and over 100 surgical procedures.
She has suffered numerous side effects – from a significant decrease in her mobility, nausea and vomiting, hair loss, vision loss, pain, and much more. Due to many lengthy hospital stays, Sarah has missed out on a lot of school and plenty of regular childhood experiences. Sadly, the more treatments she endures, the more she loses her freedom to just be a kid.
Childhood cancer has been a dominating part of my family’s life for the past 12 years. My oldest daughter, Kiarra, was just 5 when Sarah was diagnosed. While Sarah was in the hospital, Kiarra spent time with relatives or stayed home with Dad. Sometimes, she’d even join us in Sarah’s room just so we could all be together. Treatments often required us to relocate temporarily, and Kiarra would uproot her life in order to be with us. Both my husband, Mark, and I have had to take months to years off of work, which also had a financial impact and made it hard to do fun things together as a family.
We learned about Starlight Canada during Sarah’s first cancer treatment. I still remember our very first Starlight event – we rode on a yacht with Captain Starlight himself! Over the years, Starlight Canada has provided so many days of much-needed fun for our family.
It’s hard to put into words the amazing adventures we’ve had thanks to Starlight Canada. They gave us our very first Great Wolf Lodge experience, treated us to VIP holiday shopping sprees, and we’ve had the thrill of boat and ATV rides at their incredible Motomax events. Sarah even had the chance to bring a limo full of friends to Canada’s Wonderland, where she could simply be a kid, laughing and enjoying VIP treatment with her friends.
One experience that has a special place in our hearts is Starlight Canada’s annual Trick or Suite. Sarah has missed a number of Halloweens due to her health battles, but this unique event allows her to celebrate in a fun and safe way.
Just this month, our family had the joy of attending Drive For Smiles Toronto, one of Sarah’s favorite Starlight events. We spent the day cruising in luxury cars and connecting with other families who share similar challenges, leaving with our hearts full and spirits uplifted.
These special experiences with Starlight Canada are some of our best memories with Sarah and as a family. They were welcoming breaks from chemo, bloodwork, and hospital stays that consume her life. Starlight Canada has allowed my daughter to have fun in a way that a child her age should.
To have Starlight Canada by our side has been a ray of sunshine through a horrible storm. They have given our family so many things to look forward to, and have provided us with so many reasons to smile, especially during times when finding joy on our own feels difficult.
It’s because of people like you that we have a lifetime of memories that we will be forever grateful for. Now, we want to help the next family like ours. For Childhood Cancer Awareness month, my family is fundraising for Starlight Canada through our Families for Families page. Please considering donating here to bring joy and relief to families who need it most, just like mine. Thank you for supporting an organization that means the world to us.
With deep gratitude,
Gillian H.
Starlight Mom