Woodlands School is embracing the spirit of community through a heartfelt fundraiser for a special student.
Sam Madden, a Grade 3 student at Woodlands School, was born with congenital heart defects and had his first open-heart surgery at five days old. Then right before his third birthday, doctors discovered that he had neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that develops in certain types of nerve tissue.
He underwent six rounds of high-dose chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant. During the stem cell transplant, he experienced complications including lung injury, resulting in severe respiratory issues.
The tenacious nine-year-old has been in and out of the hospital throughout his entire life. Last May and June, he was in the hospital with a recurring pneumothorax in his left lung. A pneumothorax occurs when air leaks into the space between the lung and the chest wall.
”After many weeks and a few surgeries, they were able to get the lung back up enough to do pleurodesis. This is a procedure that adheres the lung to the chest wall and can help for some time to prevent another pneumothorax,” explained his mom, Lisa Parks. “We had a great summer out of the hospital with minimal appointments.”
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Then in January, Sam experienced chest pain. A trip to the ER determined that he had a large pneumothorax on the right side this time.
“He ended up being in the hospital for 55 days, getting out in early March. Through this time, he had multiple chest tubes inserted and surgeries trying to get his lung back up,” Parks said.
“His right lung tissue particularly at the top is filled with blebs (small collections of air between the lung and the outer surface of the lung) and wasn’t easy to get a seal to have the lung re-inflate. He ended up having kind of a last-resort surgery where the surgeon tried her best to staple together the unhealthy fragile tissue in many spots of his lung.”
After the surgery, his doctor said she was not confident it would be successful because his lung tissue is so damaged.
“It was successful enough for us to leave the hospital, but his lung still has a permanent small pneumothorax, so doing the pluerodesis this time was not an option since the lung needs to be fully inflated to be able to adhere,” Parks said.
“For most of this hospital stay, he was on suction so not able to leave his bed. He celebrated his ninth birthday Feb. 7 and we made the best of it decorating his room and having his brothers and cousins come have a sushi party with him.”
When Sam was well enough, his teacher Ms. Peltz came for a visit, bringing him gifts and a custom-made colouring book created by his classmates.
“We also had other classrooms send all sorts of pictures for him. One hit was Mrs. Hoas classroom sending drawings each student did of a loon. He loves loons,” Parks said.
“The students and school have been incredible. Everyone makes him feel so loved at the school. We have get-well cards from all the grades and even from Rosser school.”
Although Parks found it difficult to send Sam to school in such a fragile state, she said she has complete confidence in the care he receives at school.
“Alison Marttila has been an amazing advocate and works so closely with me on how to get Sam in school and be as normal as he can. He has three EAs (education assistants) that are trained in his feedings — he does gravity feeds in a gastrostomy tube to supplement nutrition — as well as his continuous oxygen,” Parks said.
“They are Mrs. Sorenson, Ms. Magus and Mrs. Petrowski. I’m greeted daily with them coming right to my car to hook him up to his tank. They take such good care of him.”
To further support Sam and his family, the school community is hosting a fundraiser on May 2. Terri Ross, kindergarten teacher at Woodlands School, will be shaving her head as part of the event.
“We wanted to do a fundraiser that would raise some funds for Sam and his family but that would also show them how supported they are by the community of Woodlands,” Ross said.
“We are doing a community walk, barbecue, T-shirt sales and then one student will be picked to cut off my ponytail before I shave my head.”
Ross describes Sam as “the most positive and hilarious kid” who inspires everyone daily.
“We would help any family in this situation, but Sam is really funny and brave,” she said. “He has had to go through some of the most difficult things imaginable, but he still cracks a joke and never puts limits on himself. His friends love to spend time with Sam in any way they can.”
When Sam returned home after his recent 55-day hospital stay, Ross said the school community wanted to show support for his family, both financially and emotionally.
“This fundraiser is a way to involve our school community and show how we come together to support those who need us. The idea for the walk and T-shirt sales came from Meagan Fisher and was expanded on by Bobbi-Jo Bolun — and now we’re running with it,” Ross said.
“Sponsorships have come in from businesses around the community, so almost all of the funds raised go straight to Sam and his family. This just shows the support from the Woodlands school community as a whole.”
So far, the sponsors include Lillies and Lattes, Two Little Fish, LJ’s Grill, Warren Fuels and Sigfusson Northern. There’s no set fundraising goal; instead, they’re trying to raise as much as possible to ease some of the financial strain for Sam’s family.
“Sam is the bravest little guy with the best attitude, and we just really want to show our support to him and his family,” Ross said.
‘My hair will grow back, but I hope the impact and act will remind people that it’s easy and important to help others.”
For Sam and his family, the community’s support is significant and touching.
“Knowing that Sam has so much support and that he will get a day just to show him how much everyone is cheering him on and realizing how much he goes through means so much to me and him,” she said.
“The financial help is humbling, but it did take so much stress off me, being able to say yes to him when he was in the hospital last stay. His huge sense of happiness or treat in the hospital is food — mainly sushi. It’s the one thing he looks forward to.”
The funds will be much appreciated by Sam’s family, since they might need to temporarily relocate if he gets a lung transplant.
“We just did two weeks of countless appointments, scans, blood work to send to Toronto for his approval to be on the lung transplant list. I’m expecting we will be on the list in the next couple months,” Parks said.
“I spoke with the transplant team in Toronto last summer where they even asked if we were able to physically do the transplant as a family. It could require us living out there for one year and a definite four months after surgery.”
Through the Make a Wish Foundation, Sam’s family has wished for a hot tub.
“We have a local company, Garrett Contracting, donating their time. Home Hardware in Arborg has given materials at a discounted rate,” Parks said. “LCL Spas in the Winnipeg have been amazing to us as well.”
Amid many serious aspects of day-to-day life, the event will infuse a sense of fun for Sam and his fellow students.
“Having Mrs. Ross do such a huge thing cutting all her hair off but make it so fun for all the students just shows the spirit the school has,” Parks said.
“Also, to a have all the students work so hard on creating a T-shirt design and Sam being able to go through each one was incredible.”
Anyone who’d like to donate can reach out to Woodlands School or email Terri Ross at tross@isd21.mb.ca. All are welcome to come out for the May 2 event at Woodlands School.
