Editor's note: Incorrect photo caption information was presented in the print edition on Sept. 14 as well as in the original online version of this story. The online version has been changed. The Optimist regrets the error.
After helping out with a fundraising event this spring, fighting off acute lymphoblastic leukemia for two years and going through a bone marrow transplant last fall, it was time to relax a bit and have some fun.
That’s exactly what Ladner nine-year-old Tyson Greaves, along with his brother, mom and dad, did from July 18 to 25, with a Make-A-Wish Canada trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.
“It was absolutely amazing. It was so good,” said Tyson’s mom Erin, adding that she doubts if anything will be able to top that.
The trip, that marked Make A Wish Canada’s 40th anniversary, included a pre-trip visit by the Make a Wish folks bearing gifts and included a stay in the Give Kids the World Village resort, which includes an ice cream store that’s open almost 24 hours a day.
The resort also has a feature where kids put up a star on a wall that marks and celebrates their return to health. That star remains there forever and can be visited by the family twice a year for free.
“They just go over and above for the kids. They make it such an amazing experience for them and celebrate them being healthy again,” Erin said.
At breakfast every morning, they would have special visitors, such as Mickey Mouse, at the dining hall. As far as Disney World itself, Tyson’s favourite two rides were Star Wars and Tron.
In 2019, when he was five years old, Tyson was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. After two years of chemotherapy treatments at BC Children’s Hospital, Tyson went into remission in August 2021.
Last summer, Tyson’s family learned that after only one year into remission, Tyson’s cancer had returned. Oncologists at BC Children’s Hospital quickly started chemotherapy treatment and concluded that Tyson needed a bone marrow transplant to help reduce the risk of the cancer returning.
His big brother Cooper, 11, stepped up and donated his bone marrow.
Tyson now is going into Grade 4 and is doing well.
“The doctors are really happy with his progress,” said Erin.
He’s down to monthly checkups which soon will be reduced to once every six months, she added.
On Aug. 23, Tyson got to throw out the first pitch at the Vancouver Canadians game.
In June, the RBC Race for the Kids took place at Hawthorne elementary where students in Grades 3 and 5 raised just under $18,000 for BC Children’s Hospital. Tyson helped out with that and in 2020 also helped raise $5,000 in another fundraiser.
