5-year-old Calgary cancer survivor looks to inspire others for Giving Tuesday
A five-year-old Calgary cancer survivor is hoping to inspire others to act for Giving Tuesday.
Sebastian Knutson — also known as Bash — and his parents, Terra Carnie and Nathan Knutson, are raising much-needed funds and awareness for Kids Cancer Care, a Calgary-based charity that assisted them through Sebastian's cancer crisis.
The family is being joined by five Calgary philanthropists who are collectively donating matching funds raised by Nov. 30, up to a maximum of $100,000.
It was during a holiday visit to see family in Saskatchewan in 2016, when Bash was just six months old, that things took a drastic turn. A trip to the emergency room revealed Sebastian had high-risk infant B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and three days later, he was airlifted back to Calgary to begin a grueling treatment regime.
“It was the worst day of my life,” said Terra. “I have never felt so helpless, so overwhelmed, or so much heartache all at once. When we met with the care team in Calgary to discuss his diagnosis and treatment plan, we learned that he had a 40 to 50 per cent survival rate five years post-diagnosis. That was a blow.”
Bash spent nearly half of his first year of life – 152 days – in hospital, undergoing 57 days of intravenous chemotherapy, 49 dressing changes for his central line and more than 640 blood thinner injections to manage a blood clot that developed.
Bash also underwent six bone marrow biopsies, 10 surgeries for lumbar punctures and central line changes, 27 blood transfusions and 50 visits to the outpatient clinic along with multiple additional tests and procedures.
Now five years old, Sebastian Knutson is a survivor of high-risk infant B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. (Courtesy family)
While doctors worked on Bash, Kids Cancer Care worked to support the family, and now they are looking to pay that forward for Giving Tuesday.
“Kids Cancer Care was there for us at the beginning of our journey during our lengthy stay at the hospital,” said Terra.
“Their Wednesday Pizza Nights became an opportunity for us to enjoy a bit of normalcy, while surrounded by other families enduring similar circumstances. Kids Cancer Care has supported us through every stage of Bash’s cancer journey and their support hasn’t stopped because his treatment has."
His treatment may be done but his journey is not over.
More than 75 per cent of survivors or childhood cancer live with at least one chronic, treatment-related health conditions the rest of their lives.
Bash remains is at risk for graph versus host disease (GvHD), a serious condition where the donor’s bone marrow attacks the patient’s body.
And because he received chemotherapy, Bash is also at risk for secondary cancers and a host of other side effects.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.