Richard's battle against leukemia
Donation protected
On April 8th, Richard Onslow was diagnosed with Leukemia (CML) and air lifted from Valemont B.C. to the Vancouver Children's hospital. Richard is the son of my sister Lee. Her family includes her husband Tom and children Richard (9) and Grayson (7).
(Tom, Grayson, Lee, Richard)
A few days prior, I had arrived in Blue River, BC with my boys Woodrow and William to stay with my sister and her family and wait out Covid19. The four boys are the "best of cousins". We had great plans for them to spend the spring, and potentially longer, hiking, swimming and playing outside together and they couldn't wait to hug each other after our initial 14 day isolation.
(Social distancing for the first two weeks prior to moving in together. Scout the dog, Lee, Richard, Grayson, William, Woodrow, looking forward to giving each other a hug and no doubt throwing each other down a snowbank or two)
But a few days after arriving in Blue River, Tom took Richard to the health clinic in Valemont after some concerning symptoms developed. Within a matter of hours, Lee arrived in Valemont and she and Richard were flown to the Vancouver Children's Hospital.
(Lee and Richard)
After fearing the worst, everyone has been extremely relived to learn of all the possible type’s of Leukemia to have, Richard has a type that will be treatable with medication, as opposed to radiation and he should not need a bone marrow transplant. Obviously, no leukemia would be best, but we are grateful that this type was the best case outcome under the circumstances.
(Lee & Richard celebrating his "best case" diagnosis with chocolate cake)
Richard will be on medication the rest of his life to keep the cancer at bay and he will require frequent medical visits to the Children's Hospital in Vancouver for testing and will experience side effects from the medication. For now, Richard is staying at the Children's Hospital and receiving treatments under medical supervision to bring his white blood cell counts down. The doctors are optimistic he may be home within 14 days and we are all anxiously awaiting his return.
Throughout all of this, Richard has been a trooper, asking lots of questions about his cancer and the other kids in the hospital. One on his doctors told him he could have a career in medicine because of his curiosity (we are lucky we will be able to see what Richard chooses for a career!). Richard has the biggest of hearts and is a gentle and observant boy, and has always looked after his younger brother and cousins. I recall one time in particular when Richard was three and my son Woodrow was about one and a half. We were on a walk and Woodrow ran ahead to explore and Richard called out “Woodrow Woodrow, come back, it’s not safe. Mom, save him!!!”. Another time, when Richard was about four, Grayson, who was just crawling, was making his way down towards a creek (he’s wasn’t even close) and Richard laid on top of him screamed “Mom, he’s going to the creek, the creek monster will get him… help!”. He has relaxed as he has gotten older but continues to be the ever observant and thoughtful older brother/cousin always looking out for those around him. Throughout his ordeal at the hospital, Richard has asked lots of questions about the other kids there and said to his mom, “everyone here has been so nice to me and they do such a good job helping kids, I’d like to donate $100 to this hospital”. He is referring to his own savings which us uses to buy gas for his snowmobile in the winter.
All of this is going have a huge impact on the Onslow family and of all the things they will have to deal with, one of them is the significant costs for transportation & housing on their trips to the Children's Hospital in Vancouver as well as cancer medications on an ongoing basis for a very long time.
My sister invited me to stay with her family in Blue River to help and support me through what has been a very difficult time for people all across the globe. Lee and Tom are some of the most generous and kind-hearted people and are themselves now in a position of needing help and support. Please help me to raise funds for the Onslow's so they can focus on Richard as they wait to bring him home.
Richards brother Grayson and his cousins can't wait to have him back and give him a great big hug! And we can't wait to recreate this picture this summer!
(Woodrow, William, Grayson & Richard, summer 2019)
(Tom, Grayson, Lee, Richard)
A few days prior, I had arrived in Blue River, BC with my boys Woodrow and William to stay with my sister and her family and wait out Covid19. The four boys are the "best of cousins". We had great plans for them to spend the spring, and potentially longer, hiking, swimming and playing outside together and they couldn't wait to hug each other after our initial 14 day isolation.
(Social distancing for the first two weeks prior to moving in together. Scout the dog, Lee, Richard, Grayson, William, Woodrow, looking forward to giving each other a hug and no doubt throwing each other down a snowbank or two)
But a few days after arriving in Blue River, Tom took Richard to the health clinic in Valemont after some concerning symptoms developed. Within a matter of hours, Lee arrived in Valemont and she and Richard were flown to the Vancouver Children's Hospital.
(Lee and Richard)After fearing the worst, everyone has been extremely relived to learn of all the possible type’s of Leukemia to have, Richard has a type that will be treatable with medication, as opposed to radiation and he should not need a bone marrow transplant. Obviously, no leukemia would be best, but we are grateful that this type was the best case outcome under the circumstances.
(Lee & Richard celebrating his "best case" diagnosis with chocolate cake)
Richard will be on medication the rest of his life to keep the cancer at bay and he will require frequent medical visits to the Children's Hospital in Vancouver for testing and will experience side effects from the medication. For now, Richard is staying at the Children's Hospital and receiving treatments under medical supervision to bring his white blood cell counts down. The doctors are optimistic he may be home within 14 days and we are all anxiously awaiting his return.
Throughout all of this, Richard has been a trooper, asking lots of questions about his cancer and the other kids in the hospital. One on his doctors told him he could have a career in medicine because of his curiosity (we are lucky we will be able to see what Richard chooses for a career!). Richard has the biggest of hearts and is a gentle and observant boy, and has always looked after his younger brother and cousins. I recall one time in particular when Richard was three and my son Woodrow was about one and a half. We were on a walk and Woodrow ran ahead to explore and Richard called out “Woodrow Woodrow, come back, it’s not safe. Mom, save him!!!”. Another time, when Richard was about four, Grayson, who was just crawling, was making his way down towards a creek (he’s wasn’t even close) and Richard laid on top of him screamed “Mom, he’s going to the creek, the creek monster will get him… help!”. He has relaxed as he has gotten older but continues to be the ever observant and thoughtful older brother/cousin always looking out for those around him. Throughout his ordeal at the hospital, Richard has asked lots of questions about the other kids there and said to his mom, “everyone here has been so nice to me and they do such a good job helping kids, I’d like to donate $100 to this hospital”. He is referring to his own savings which us uses to buy gas for his snowmobile in the winter.
All of this is going have a huge impact on the Onslow family and of all the things they will have to deal with, one of them is the significant costs for transportation & housing on their trips to the Children's Hospital in Vancouver as well as cancer medications on an ongoing basis for a very long time.
My sister invited me to stay with her family in Blue River to help and support me through what has been a very difficult time for people all across the globe. Lee and Tom are some of the most generous and kind-hearted people and are themselves now in a position of needing help and support. Please help me to raise funds for the Onslow's so they can focus on Richard as they wait to bring him home.
Richards brother Grayson and his cousins can't wait to have him back and give him a great big hug! And we can't wait to recreate this picture this summer!
(Woodrow, William, Grayson & Richard, summer 2019)Organizer and beneficiary
Jessica Galbraith
Organizer
Blue River, BC
Laura Lee Onslow
Beneficiary