68 medically-challenged Calgary families treated to shopping spree by Starlight Foundation

Oliver Hamilton enjoyed a shopping spree at a Toys "R" Us private shopping event Sunday morning sponsored by the Starlight Children's Foundation.

A group of Calgary families including children with “rich medical histories” were treated to a shopping spree at Toys “R” Us Sunday morning.

The Starlight Children's Foundation and Toys “R” Us teamed up for the nation-wide event, which saw 750 families across the country, including 68 in Calgary, participate in the private shopping event.

“A lot of them go through (significant) medical treatment and  they don't have the life tha every other kid would have,” said Starlight Children’s Foundation Coordinator Cheema Dumapit.

One of those kids was 17-year-old Oliver Hamilton.

“When I was born, I had I think it was two litres of fluid in my bladder,” Hamilton said, “so that complicated some things, so they had to drain that. And then I also had a colon, but it didn't work, so they had to take that one out. And now I have an ostomy.

“And then my intestines that I do have, they don't work quite properly,” he added, “so I'm on IV nutrition every night, except for the weekends I get them off, which is nice, but, yeah --I have a tube in my stomach to help get some extra nutrients as well.

“I'm still able to eat and stuff like for fun," he added, "but my main source of nutrients is the IV.”

Oliver said he enjoyed the private shopping event, which featured a number of Star Wars characters, because it allowed him and other kids like him to think of something else for a while.

"It's basically just for families that have a rich medical history and, like, complicated hospital lives," he said.

Oliver’s dad Thomas agreed, saying the event provided a nice distraction from those everyday health concerns.

“It's a wonderful chance for the kids to come out and have some pre-Christmas fun,” he said. “(They) do a bit of shopping, and it gives them an opportunity to forget about the health issues that they face every day, which it's nice, and that's the best thing that Starlight does for these kids, is they can just focus on fun and not have to think about all the worries and think about all the stress that they go through.”

“Starlight has been so generous to them, and they include the siblings, which is really wonderful,” Thomas added.

Oliver was all smiles Sunday morning.

“It helps a lot to sort of not think about everything under my shirt,” he said. “It's a really nice opportunity for a distraction.”

As for what he planned on picking up?

“I'm torn between Lego Technic set and Nerf Gun,” he said. “It was fun to get to go out and look for it.”

For more about the Starlight Children's Foundation, go here.

With files from Tyler Barrow