Help Brayden Kick Cancer's Butt!
Donation protected
Update: On Friday, October 19, after a brave and courageous battle with cancer, while surrounded by family, Brayden Ryan Parsons, peacefully became an angel.
The family sincerely appreciate all the amazing generosity and outpouring of support. They thank you for your love, prayers and words of encouragement.
The donations and any future donations collected, will be used for Brayden’s funeral arrangements and assisting the family until the can get on their feet after such a devastating loss.
Arrangements for Brayden’s celebration of life are being made and more information will be posted soon.
Please note-If you are donating through this page, you do not have to tip. The tip doesn’t go to Brayden. To avoid tipping and to make sure 100% of your donation goes to Brayden, choose other and enter 0. Thank you.
If you would prefer to e-transfer, or if you don’t have a credit card, a donation can be sent to [email redacted]- Thank you!
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Brayden is a 9-year-old boy from Barrie, Ontario. He’s a beautiful caring child with an infectious smile. Brayden loves superheroes like Spiderman; he writes stories, creating his own superhero characters. People often comment on his brilliant auburn hair. He’s caring and thinks about others before himself, especially his little sister Vanessa. He’s my sister’s (Christine La Belle) grandson. I’m telling Brayden’s story in hopes that we can help the family concentrate on taking care of their sick son and not have to worry about how they will all survive the cost of cancer.
A few weeks before school started, Brayden started feeling nauseous and developed headaches. Stephanie and Cory, his parents, didn’t know what was making their son sick but they were concerned.
Searching for an answer, they made many trips to the hospital but they were always sent home. The medical staff couldn’t find a reason for the illness and said it was a virus or a stomach bug and that it would pass, but it didn’t. When he started losing weight and the nausea and headaches persisted, Stephanie and Cory knew it was serious; this wasn’t just a simple case of the flu.
Brayden’s nausea and headaches increased day by day, and so the same day his Dad Cory was undergoing back surgery in Toronto’s Sunnybrook hospital, Brayden’s Mom and Grandma went searching for answers at Sick Kids. They weren’t going to leave until they had answers. In the car on the way to Toronto, Brayden started to slur his words. Panicked and frightened, Stephanie pulled over and called 911. He was transported by ambulance to Sick Kid’s Hospital.
Initially the doctors thought Brayden had suffered a stroke, but the results of the MRI showed something even more shocking. Brayden had a tumour on his brain which was putting pressure on his spinal cord, causing the fluid to back-up and also causing the nausea and headaches. At last, they had found the reason for Brayden’s mystery illness, but it wasn’t the answer they were hoping to find. Stephanie was told that they would need to operate on Brayden’s brain immediately, to remove the tumour.
Stephanie broke the news to Cory as soon as he woke up from his back surgery. He immediately left the hospital to be at his son’s side, after only just having had surgery himself.
After Brayden’s surgery, he was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma brain cancer. It’s on the spectrum of high risk, which is equivalent to stage 3 or 4. The surgeons were only able to remove some of the tumour, not all. Brayden’s cancer has already disseminated to his spine. He’s starting radiation and then he’ll have to undergo chemotherapy.
His future is uncertain and his fight to survive will be a difficult one. They'll need the help of friends and family.
Both Brayden’s Mom and Dad want and need to be there to support their son at this very delicate and difficult time. As a result, Stephanie won’t be able to continue to work as she needs to take care of Brayden. She will apply for critical care benefits with Employment Insurance, but they will only be covered for a limited time. Cory’s Employment Insurance sick benefits have ended and Cory will likely not be able to return to his previous profession because of his serious back injury.
Expenses to take care of Brayden and his family during his treatment and aftercare will be very costly. There will be many trips from their home in Barrie to Toronto. They also have to continue to provide a comforting and supportive home for Brayden’s little sister Vanessa, who’s 6. They’ll need to pay for medications as well as other expenses such as gas, parking, lodging and meals. They may need to buy Brayden specialized equipment to help with his care. Their home in Barrie won’t be easy for Brayden to navigate in his condition and he may need to use a wheelchair that supports his head to get around. Their small family will most likely need to move to a home that’s only one floor because Brayden can’t go up or down stairs. All of these things are costly and without an income at the moment, Brayden and his family need your help.
What we’re asking for is to do what you can, and to spread the word. Please give anything you can, it will be appreciated. If you can’t help out monetarily, please share this post on your social media or tell people about it.
“This is hard for us, to ask for help. Our reality is that we cannot provide all that his cancer will require. Any contributions will be greatly appreciated and we’ll be forever grateful for your kindness.” - Stephanie Parsons (Brayden’s Mom)
The family sincerely appreciate all the amazing generosity and outpouring of support. They thank you for your love, prayers and words of encouragement.
The donations and any future donations collected, will be used for Brayden’s funeral arrangements and assisting the family until the can get on their feet after such a devastating loss.
Arrangements for Brayden’s celebration of life are being made and more information will be posted soon.
Please note-If you are donating through this page, you do not have to tip. The tip doesn’t go to Brayden. To avoid tipping and to make sure 100% of your donation goes to Brayden, choose other and enter 0. Thank you.
If you would prefer to e-transfer, or if you don’t have a credit card, a donation can be sent to [email redacted]- Thank you!
******************************************************************************************
Brayden is a 9-year-old boy from Barrie, Ontario. He’s a beautiful caring child with an infectious smile. Brayden loves superheroes like Spiderman; he writes stories, creating his own superhero characters. People often comment on his brilliant auburn hair. He’s caring and thinks about others before himself, especially his little sister Vanessa. He’s my sister’s (Christine La Belle) grandson. I’m telling Brayden’s story in hopes that we can help the family concentrate on taking care of their sick son and not have to worry about how they will all survive the cost of cancer.
A few weeks before school started, Brayden started feeling nauseous and developed headaches. Stephanie and Cory, his parents, didn’t know what was making their son sick but they were concerned.
Searching for an answer, they made many trips to the hospital but they were always sent home. The medical staff couldn’t find a reason for the illness and said it was a virus or a stomach bug and that it would pass, but it didn’t. When he started losing weight and the nausea and headaches persisted, Stephanie and Cory knew it was serious; this wasn’t just a simple case of the flu.
Brayden’s nausea and headaches increased day by day, and so the same day his Dad Cory was undergoing back surgery in Toronto’s Sunnybrook hospital, Brayden’s Mom and Grandma went searching for answers at Sick Kids. They weren’t going to leave until they had answers. In the car on the way to Toronto, Brayden started to slur his words. Panicked and frightened, Stephanie pulled over and called 911. He was transported by ambulance to Sick Kid’s Hospital.
Initially the doctors thought Brayden had suffered a stroke, but the results of the MRI showed something even more shocking. Brayden had a tumour on his brain which was putting pressure on his spinal cord, causing the fluid to back-up and also causing the nausea and headaches. At last, they had found the reason for Brayden’s mystery illness, but it wasn’t the answer they were hoping to find. Stephanie was told that they would need to operate on Brayden’s brain immediately, to remove the tumour.
Stephanie broke the news to Cory as soon as he woke up from his back surgery. He immediately left the hospital to be at his son’s side, after only just having had surgery himself.
After Brayden’s surgery, he was diagnosed with Medulloblastoma brain cancer. It’s on the spectrum of high risk, which is equivalent to stage 3 or 4. The surgeons were only able to remove some of the tumour, not all. Brayden’s cancer has already disseminated to his spine. He’s starting radiation and then he’ll have to undergo chemotherapy.
His future is uncertain and his fight to survive will be a difficult one. They'll need the help of friends and family.
Both Brayden’s Mom and Dad want and need to be there to support their son at this very delicate and difficult time. As a result, Stephanie won’t be able to continue to work as she needs to take care of Brayden. She will apply for critical care benefits with Employment Insurance, but they will only be covered for a limited time. Cory’s Employment Insurance sick benefits have ended and Cory will likely not be able to return to his previous profession because of his serious back injury.
Expenses to take care of Brayden and his family during his treatment and aftercare will be very costly. There will be many trips from their home in Barrie to Toronto. They also have to continue to provide a comforting and supportive home for Brayden’s little sister Vanessa, who’s 6. They’ll need to pay for medications as well as other expenses such as gas, parking, lodging and meals. They may need to buy Brayden specialized equipment to help with his care. Their home in Barrie won’t be easy for Brayden to navigate in his condition and he may need to use a wheelchair that supports his head to get around. Their small family will most likely need to move to a home that’s only one floor because Brayden can’t go up or down stairs. All of these things are costly and without an income at the moment, Brayden and his family need your help.
What we’re asking for is to do what you can, and to spread the word. Please give anything you can, it will be appreciated. If you can’t help out monetarily, please share this post on your social media or tell people about it.
“This is hard for us, to ask for help. Our reality is that we cannot provide all that his cancer will require. Any contributions will be greatly appreciated and we’ll be forever grateful for your kindness.” - Stephanie Parsons (Brayden’s Mom)
Organizer and beneficiary
Kathy Somers
Organizer
Scarborough, ON
Christine Labelle
Beneficiary