Harland’s wish comes true
New backyard pool for New Waterford boy with brain tumour
Harland Fraser and his friends good-naturedly squabble over who gets to take the first trip across the surface of the new backyard pool atop the inflatable pizza slice.
It’s a happy day for the Fraser family, during a year when they’ve faced more than their share of challenges, with the nine-year-old being diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour in February. Friends and family gathered for a party celebrating the fulfilment of Harland’s wish for a pool by the Children’s Wish Foundation.
His mother Janet noted that he had been very fatigued, even falling asleep in school one day, leading up to his diagnosis.
“When that happened, we knew something was really wrong,” Janet said. “It just progressed from there, slowly his cognitive function, it just lessened and lessened. He would go into a room and he didn’t know why he was there, and his body functions started to give out.”
The symptoms quickly worsened and it took a few weeks to get a diagnosis. They eventually were sent to the IWK in Halifax where Harland saw a neurologist and underwent a CT scan and other tests. The day after he was diagnosed, he underwent surgery for a biopsy. That was followed by chemotherapy and radiation.
“I took gross serums and I did a lot of gross stuff to feel better,” Harland said. “The radiation smelled bad and the chemo tasted bad.”
But, fortunately, Harland is doing much better these days. While he still experiences fatigue, Janet said they were advised that would last a bit longer. In the fall, he will return to Halifax for another MRI which will let them know whether the tumour has shrunk, stayed the same size or grown.
“We haven’t got the all-clear yet, but I think we’re close,” Janet said.
The family looked into the Children’s Wish Foundation program, not expecting to qualify, only to discover that several people had already submitted Harland’s name. When it came to choosing a wish, selecting a pool was easy, as Harland has always loved the water, his father Bruce said.
“For what he went through and the trips to Halifax, the nausea and the sickness and not being around his friends, it was just appointment after appointment and travelling to Halifax,” Bruce said.
And while a family trip might be nice, the pool will continue to provide joy and memories for years to come, Janet said.
“I love to swim and I love to have a deck with a pool,” Harland said, adding it means they will no longer have to make regular trips to Canadian Tire each summer to pick up blow up pools.
Harland said he’s looking forward to having many pool parties.
“Any today’s the first,” he said.
The Children’s Wish Foundation provided funds for the pool itself, while the Frasers paid for the decking. Cathy Sutherland, the development co-ordinator in Cape Breton for the Children’s Wish Foundation, also joined the Frasers in thanking Olympic Pools and Home Depot for their efforts in making the wish a reality.