Connor
Through the #CourageForConnor fundraiser, friends of the Morcom family rallied to raise funds for Canadian Blood Services, an organization the Morcoms credit for helping them overcome the biggest challenge their family has ever faced: childhood cancer.
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Lee Ann and Darren knew something wasn’t right when their youngest son Connor couldn’t see properly. They knew it was something more serious when their eye doctor referred them to get a CT scan of Connor’s head.
“We couldn’t have been more shocked when they told us Connor had a brain tumour,” Lee Ann remembered. “I knew something serious was happening, but it’s still the last kind of news you ever expect to hear as a mother.”
The next year was a complete whirlwind for the Morcom family. Three days after the discovery of the tumour—a cancer called medulloblastoma that accounts for about 20 percent of childhood cancers, mostly affecting boys—Connor was flown to Vancouver where he underwent brain surgery to remove the mass. Then started 31 rounds of radiation followed by six months of chemotherapy.
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During his treatment, Connor needed more than 25 blood transfusions to replenish his blood counts.
“Blood is so important and you don’t realize how lifesaving it really is until you see it going into your child when he is completely pale and has zero energy,” Lee Ann said. “You think of car accidents or trauma injuries but you don’t think of how much blood cancer patients need, especially kids.”
Separated from her eldest son Aiden, and husband Darren, Lee Ann and Connor found comfort in the tremendous support shown by their family, friends and neighbours when they started selling #CourageForConnor bracelets to raise funds.
“After Connor’s treatments, we sat down as a family and talked about all the organizations that had played a role in his recovery so we could donate the proceeds of the fundraiser,” Lee Ann explained. “Connor knew how important his blood transfusions were and that’s why he wanted to give back to a charity like Canadian Blood Services.”
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Whether you make a personal gift online, or participate in a fundraising event, financial donations to Canadian Blood Services have an impact beyond measure for families like Connor’s. They help recruit the 100,000 new blood donors that are needed each year to meet demand, and help fund projects that make the donor experience as smooth as possible.
“I just can’t do enough to thank everyone who donated on Connor’s behalf,” said Lee Ann, who hopes the funds from #CourageForConnor can support other families fighting childhood cancers. “Financial and blood donors saved my sons life and it’s amazing to be able to pay it forward.”
| Make a financial gift that supports kids like Connor. |