Mason Jars for Mason: A Fundraiser for SickKids
Many of you have inquired as to how you can support Samantha and Mason as they battle her rare brain tumour. This Christmas, we are hoping to make a seasonal donation in Mason's name to the award-winning, life-saving SickKids Hospital!
The Project:
'Mason Jars for Mason' was envisioned by Wards Island resident, artist and mother Georgia Ydreos out of a desire to help support our friend and neighbour Samantha McCombs and her daughter Mason. A Silent Auction at this year's Christmas Boutique, the offerings by local artists and artisans will fit into a mason jar, either literally or figuratively! There are no limits to interpretation, so long as the item can be auctioned off in support of SickKids Hospital. There will be bid sheets on Friday night and all of Saturday, and the highest bidder at the closing of the Boutique will take home their win! The offerings are still coming in, and include gems by Lynn Purves, Barbara Klunder, Luisa Milan, Barry Page, Jim Belisle and the Ferry Terminal Billboard Project by Lake Effects Project, Alastair Dickson, Kathleen Doody, Lolly Smith, Betsy Canfield, The Balm Skin, Annette Vanleeuwen, Nina Nakajima, Anne Kotyk, Barbara Baxter, Michael and Robin Christmas, Elizabeth Roerick, Eva Rutherford, Karen Pederson, Leida Englar, Raani Foods, the WIA, AIA and the Shaw House and Georgia Ydreos. |
The Backstory:
Since her diagnosis back in July, four year old Mason has already endured emergency brain surgery, a trip to the ER, two bone marrow transplants, countless MRI's and two of three rounds of high dose chemotherapy. With the help of family, friends and our incredible community, we were able to raise enough money through GoFundMe to support Sam while she puts her professional practice on hold to care for daughter's round the clock needs. For more of their story, read here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mason-through-cancer
Keeping Mason's plight in our hearts and top of mind over the holidays, we want to send a great big thank you to the phenomenal team at SickKids! Our local children's hospital is a world-class institution most recently recognized as 'the world's best specialized hospital' in 2022!
Why We Love SickKids:
Mason has received exceptional care all along the way. Because of the extraordinary care and consideration of Neuro-Oncologist Dr. Bartels, Mason had access to an unscheduled MRI that led to the discovery of unexpected growth in the benign part of her tumour. This prompted emergency brain surgery by the great Dr. Dirks, head of Neurosurgery and the most competent and compassionate doctor we could have asked for. He truly saved Mason's life, extracting 99.9% of her tumour. She will still have to undergo chemotherapy and will likely be inpatient for Christmas. Still, Samantha remains optimistic and Mason's spirits are generally high. The nurses not only have the most gentle bedside manner, but they are well versed in Paw Patrol and LOL dolls, making Mason feel they are comrades instead of threats. The social worker David seems to show up for all the difficult meetings with the medical team, knowing just what to say to Sam to put things into perspective. At every turn, we have felt the immense support of the nursing team, social workers, technicians and most recently, the staff in the ER. They even brought Sam pajamas for that first night that we arrived unprepared. In the worst of times, we have felt so incredibly fortunate to be at SickKids.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Since her diagnosis back in July, four year old Mason has already endured emergency brain surgery, a trip to the ER, two bone marrow transplants, countless MRI's and two of three rounds of high dose chemotherapy. With the help of family, friends and our incredible community, we were able to raise enough money through GoFundMe to support Sam while she puts her professional practice on hold to care for daughter's round the clock needs. For more of their story, read here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mason-through-cancer
Keeping Mason's plight in our hearts and top of mind over the holidays, we want to send a great big thank you to the phenomenal team at SickKids! Our local children's hospital is a world-class institution most recently recognized as 'the world's best specialized hospital' in 2022!
Why We Love SickKids:
Mason has received exceptional care all along the way. Because of the extraordinary care and consideration of Neuro-Oncologist Dr. Bartels, Mason had access to an unscheduled MRI that led to the discovery of unexpected growth in the benign part of her tumour. This prompted emergency brain surgery by the great Dr. Dirks, head of Neurosurgery and the most competent and compassionate doctor we could have asked for. He truly saved Mason's life, extracting 99.9% of her tumour. She will still have to undergo chemotherapy and will likely be inpatient for Christmas. Still, Samantha remains optimistic and Mason's spirits are generally high. The nurses not only have the most gentle bedside manner, but they are well versed in Paw Patrol and LOL dolls, making Mason feel they are comrades instead of threats. The social worker David seems to show up for all the difficult meetings with the medical team, knowing just what to say to Sam to put things into perspective. At every turn, we have felt the immense support of the nursing team, social workers, technicians and most recently, the staff in the ER. They even brought Sam pajamas for that first night that we arrived unprepared. In the worst of times, we have felt so incredibly fortunate to be at SickKids.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!