Family of Heroes

Welcome to the SickKids Believe campaign.

Meet David & Jack

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David knows a few things about motivating young people. A grade 8 teacher, sports coach and father of three, he’s used many techniques to help young people achieve their goals. His techniques were put to the test in August 2003. David’s youngest child, Jack, a AAA hockey star, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). David and the rest of the family rallied around Jack so that, in David’s words: “Jack wouldn’t have to go through this alone.”

ALL is a type of cancer which starts in the white blood cells within the bone marrow and quickly moves into the blood stream, spreading to other parts of the body.  Jack began a two-year-long battle fighting his cancer with intense chemotherapy, numerous bouts of radiation and ingested more than one thousand chemotherapy pills.

In June 2006, the family had an ET (End of Treatment) party to celebrate Jack’s remission and David began growing his hair back again. 

In August 2006, only three years after his first diagnosis, Jack’s cancer returned. This time he needed more than chemotherapy and radiation to save his life; he needed a bone marrow transplant. Sadly, no one in Jack’s family was a donor match. Without a match, the family faced the daunting prospect of waiting to find a perfect match. They turned to SickKids because they trusted the professionals to help them through this sensitive time. Through the help of a worldwide donor list, a donor was found and Jack and his family began to prepare for the procedure. The isolation area at SickKids became home to 13-year-old Jack for about three months in the Winter of 2007. He put on a brave face and, like a fearless veteran, he was ready to take on his battle with cancer once again.

Jack finished the treatment protocol for the transplant and was released from the hospital earlier this year. Though his low energy levels have forced him to stop playing competitive hockey, he’s directed his energies at a new sport – golf. Being the competitive young boy that he is, golf, too, has become a competitive sport for Jack and he is making his way around the junior golf circuit.

Jack and David never allowed cancer to slow them down and they have used this experience to raise both money and awareness about cancer.  The family is the number-one fundraiser of the Terry Fox Run in their community, raising more than $24,000.

Each year, SickKids sees approximately 320 new cancer patients, representing more than 25 per cent of all new cases of paediatric cancer in Canada.  In Ontario, SickKids is the only children’s hospital that provides the full range of treatments for children requiring the most complex cancer treatments: chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, bone marrow transplantation and palliative care. 

Donations Make the Difference: Giving to SickKids is truly a heroic gesture. Your donations help children like Jack every day. You fund research breakthroughs that mean less pain for children, a higher survival rate, and less time in the hospital. Please give generously now.