Children’s Wish creates a chance to camp
One local boy recently has his wish come true thanks to the local chapter of the Children’s Wish Foundation.
Four-year-old Bruce McKay was born with angelman’s syndrome and epilepsy, but his family did not want that to stop him from doing what he loves most.
“Angelman’s is neurological-genetic disorder, which basically means that it’s really hard for his body to process and receive messages from his brain,” said his mother Carly McKay. “So things like movement and speech are really hard for him.
“But even with that, Bruce just loves the outdoors. He loves going for walks. He loves beaches. So for his wish, we thought long and hard about it and decided on a trailer. My husband and I are both avid campers, but haven’t been able to since adopting Bruce, so this wish will make that come true for us.”
Bruce was born in Manitoba before being adopted by the McKays, but he has an open adoption, meaning he still has contact with his family. Carly says camping without a trailer just isn’t possible for the family.
“I just can’t imagine trying to camp in a tent with Bruce,” she said. “He doesn’t control his body temperature all that well, he is up a lot of the night and he can be loud at times. A tent just wouldn’t work for our family at this point, so having the trailer will make it so we actually can camp as a family.”
Carly says the first trip will be to Elkwater, then the family will start exploring places farther away.
‘We have some weekends booked in Elkwater for this year, and we’ll get our feet wet there,” she said. “Once we know how things will go, we’ll look at other places, and maybe start out with B.C.”
March is Children’s Wish month in the city, and there will be multiple ways to support the organization in the coming days.
On Friday, Mar. 2 there will be a silent auction at Cafe Verve starting at 7 p.m., with admission by donation.
All McDonald’s restaurants across the city will allow Hatters to buy a wish cloud for $2 and sign it, with proceeds going to Children’s Wish.
Rona will have paper teddy bears that can be purchased for $2.
Various businesses will have donation boxes set up around the city. People can contact Donna Serr at dserr@shaw.ca for a tax receipt for a donation over $20.