Nelson’s Jasanna Dobbyn was wrapping Christmas presents in late November when she got a call letting her know her five-year-old son Alistair had suffered a seizure.
“I responded ‘what are you talking about?’ Alistair has been such a healthy kid,” she wrote online. “I met them at the hospital and within 20 minutes of being there he had another (Grand Mal) which I witnessed and brought me to my knees.”
Thus began a family emergency: Alistair was taken to BC Children’s Hospital via medevac on Nov. 26. It was there they learned he has a very rare brain tumour called diffuse intrinsic pontime glioma.
“It is an ‘incurable’ aggressively growing cancerous brain tumor. According to the doctors here, there are almost no survivors of this, though the radiology doctor said she knows of one who is in his 20s.”
Alistair, who is in kindergarten, has been undergoing radiation treatments.
“I never thought that this could/would happen to us,” Bellefeuille said.
She was moved to learn Alistair’s friends at Rosemont Elementary have already rallied behind him. The PAC held a bake sale that raised over $1,200, students have been creating art to sell and a donation jar sits at the front desk.
“Every piece of any kind of money you drop in here will go to Alistair in the hospital,” reads the pencilled message on the jar, decorated in bright primary colours.
Kindergarten student Milo Jarvis considers himself to be Alistair’s best friend, and staff report he has been donating money daily to the jar. Lily Love, Amber Gurung, Amelie Maltais, and Ruby Nay have also contributed their time and artistic efforts.
An account has been opened at the Nelson and District Credit Union for Alistair. The account number is 100000077818.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” wrote Jasanna.
