Former SickKids kid proud to give back through role at Dairy Queen
Miracle Treat Day (coming up on August 11) is an extra special day for Raymond, a Dairy Queen employee who works out of the Stayner, Ontario location. It is a day when his store, and the Stayner community, come together to raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network and SickKids. Line-ups are typically out the door, and although Raymond is often scheduled to work for just a few hours on this very busy day, he ends up volunteering his time to stay the entire day to help raise as much money as possible for SickKids.
Why is Miracle Treat Day so important for Raymond? Because he was a SickKids kid himself, and he wants to give back in whatever way he can to the hospital that had such a positive impact on him.
Raymond was only five months old when his journey began at SickKids. Diagnosed with Kostmann neutropenia (a shortage of white blood cells, neutrophils, that play a role in fighting infection), he spent many months in the hospital hooked up to an IV. A leukemia diagnosis a couple years later brought Raymond back to SickKids for chemotherapy, radiation and the removal of his spleen, which was riddled with cancer. He also required a bone marrow transplant, and unfortunately no one in his family was a match.
“When we learned that my family was not a match, my nursery school teacher took up my cause, got my story on the news and encouraged people to get tested,” said Raymond. “This spiraled into more news outlets reaching out to my family for my story. Eventually, a donor in Tilley, New Brunswick, was found through the bone marrow registry.”
"I know what it’s like…wondering when you’re going home from the hospital"
One year later, at the age of six, Raymond returned to SickKids after developing complications from the bone marrow transplant in the form of Graft vs. Host disease. Although doctors tried everything they could to stop it, the disease latched on to his tendons and muscles, wasting them away and pulling them extremely tight. As a result, Raymond lost the ability to bend over or to bend his extremities and now must use a reaching stick and dressing stick to help him navigate his daily life.
A meningitis diagnosis in grade four was his last long stay at SickKids. After this, he came in for yearly check-ups until he was 18, at which point his care was transferred to his local hospital.
Throughout his many health challenges, he has had a strong support system. His parents tried to focus his attention on living his childhood as fully as he possibly could. His friends and local community rallied around him and sent cards, held fundraisers and joined the bone marrow registry. Through SickKids, he had the opportunity to attend Camp Ooch, which provided him with a feeling of acceptance and belonging. And when it was time to enter the workforce, it was Wasaga Beach and Stayner Dairy Queen Operators Joe and Sherry Schaap that gave him the opportunity to earn a living.
“I am so very grateful to Sherry and Joe for giving me a shot to work at Dairy Queen, despite my limitations.”
