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March 24, 2015 Vol. 30 • No. 24 ••• $1.25 inc. G.S.T.
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Two Courtenay dreams filled on the same day Nikko’s story
Scott Stanfield and Terry Farrell Record Staff
Spring break promises to be a memorable time for two Courtenay youngsters, thanks to a Vancouver Island charity that grants wishes to children with life-threatening conditions. Four-year-old Nikko, who suffers from severe chronic lung disease, will travel to Maui with his family. Eleven-year-old Markus, who has overcome two brain tumours, will drive to Disneyland with his parents, Mark and Yvonne. The trips are compliments of Help Fill A Dream — a foundation that helps Vancouver Island children by fulfilling dreams, and assisting families financially. “We believe that every dream is a story of joy and healing,” the foundation’s executive director Craig Smith said. “How amazing to be making two dreams come true on one day.” Nikko was presented his Hawaiian beach dream at home Thursday. Markus received his RV road trip dream in a presentation at Big Boy’s Toys in Nanoose Bay.
Markus’s dream Markus Yule is a Grade 6 student at Valley View Elementary. He was diagnosed with the tumours in September of 2013. Recently, he completed radiation and chemotherapy at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. For six weeks he underwent both treatments at the same time. He is now cancer free. “I’d say it was harder on us,” said Markus’ father, Mark. “Physically it was tough on him, but he was never in a down mood. It was never a negative thing, he never took it that way. I’m sure when he’s older he’ll
Markus Yule, accompanied by parents Mark and Yvonne, was presented with an RV road trip dream Thursday at Big Boy’s Toys in Nanoose Bay. Inset, Nikko (left) and Kallin react to the announcement of a Hawaii vacation. fully understand what he’s been through. How close he came and all that. But right now he doesn’t see it that way, he just wants to be normal.” The diagnosis came about after Markus had fallen at school and hit his head. Mark and Yvonne had him checked for concussion at St. Joseph’s Hospital. “The doctor just wasn’t quite sure,” Mark said, noting a CT scan revealed the tumours. “He was having concussion symptoms.”
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The family will travel to Disneyland and Legoland in California over two weeks during spring break, beginning March 28. The trip is courtesy of Big Boy’s Toys in Nanoose Bay, a family owned and operated business. “As a family with three boys, Markus’ story touched our family on a personal level,” Big Boy’s owner Ian Moore said. “We believe in giving back to our community and felt that our donation of the use of our RV was something that might bring a smile to this little
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guy’s face.” It will be Markus’ second trip to Disneyland, though the first went by in a flash. Last summer through the hospital, he was part of a large group of children who spent a day in Disneyland. The trip came at the end of his treatment. Besides the foundation, You Are Not Alone (YANA) has also assisted Markus’ family with travel expenses. –SS
Many wishes fulfilled through Help Make a Dream are ones of respite, with dark days ahead for those involved. Nikko’s is a celebratory dream; recognizing new beginnings. “Every day there’s another first now,” said Nikko’s mom, Kathy, at a party to announce Nikko’s dream Hawaii vacation. “For two and a half years, everything was so confined. We couldn’t go out. We lived indoors – at hospitals; at home. Now, every day we go outside, we do something else for the first time.” Next week Nikko, his brother Kallin, and their parents, Kathy Segriff and Lino Bertoria, will travel together on a bona fide holiday – another first. And it promises to be the first of many. Nikko has been given a clean bill of health. Kids and beaches go hand in hand, so for Nikko and his family, Hawaii was a natural choice. “Nikko was very housebound (for his first two years in Canada) – he couldn’t go outside; he couldn’t go near the sand and he couldn’t go near the water,” said Kathy. “We were pretty limited as to what it looked like for him, or him and his brother, to be playing together. So for the wish, I said the biggest dream I have is for them to be outside together, playing on a beach, getting wet together. The wish kind of formulated from there.” Kathy and Lino adopted Nikko from Vietnam, when Nikko was 17 months old. He already had a troubled health history, having acquired pneumonia three months earlier. The fluid build-up demanded a tracheotomy, as he only had a millimetre of airway.
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