Canadian Town Celebrates Christmas Two Months Early For Boy With Terminal Brain Cancer
A Canadian town is celebrating Christmas two months early this year, so a boy with terminal brain cancer can enjoy one last Christmas in the very short amount of time he has left, CBC News is reporting.
Saint George, Ontario, Canada, is a town of about 3,000 people, some 60 miles from Toronto. And as of this weekend, the town’s favorite son is a 7-year-old boy named Evan Leversage. Just a few days before his second birthday, Evan was diagnosed with cancer. He’d spend the next year and five months — 70 weeks — undergoing grueling chemotherapy. His doctors thought he was on the mend. In January of this year, an MRI revealed a tumor, and Evan endured another 30 weeks of chemotherapy, says his mother, Nicole.
“He’s been phenomenal through it all. He wants to make everyone happy. In my eyes, he’s a hero. He never complained of any pain. He persevered through his whole thing.”
In July, an MRI revealed that the tumor had grown and expanded into other parts of his brain, and that there were no further treatment options.
When Nicole told Evan the news, she helped her son compose a list of the things he wanted to do with his remaining time, according to Huffington Post. Evan’s wishes were simple — to see Niagara Falls, see a movie, have dinner at his favorite restaurant, and have one last Christmas.
Nicole, a single mother with two other children, asked her own friends and family to celebrate Christmas a little early for Evan. From there, Nicole’s cousins took things a step further. They got the neighbors involved, passing out flyers and setting up a Facebook page to raise money for gifts for the family.
Once word got out around Saint George that Evan likely wouldn’t live to see Christmas, friends, family, and neighbors brought Christmas to Evan two months early. The town of Saint George has pulled out all the stops — homes are decorated for Christmas, carolers are going door-to-door, and Saturday night, the town held a Christmas parade — all for Evan. The parade route went right past Evan’s house.
Lights, wreaths and all — Christmas in October for Evan, who is battling brain cancer https://t.co/sg5CC6ZNn8 pic.twitter.com/LdlwxJ5fuS
— CBC Toronto (@CBCToronto) October 21, 2015
.@SGGNews students rally to bring Christmas cheer to student Evan Leversage this weekend. https://t.co/DKetq7KxNl pic.twitter.com/8wcLqGxXh7
— GrandErieSchoolBoard (@GEDSB) October 22, 2015
Merry Christmas Evan! Main St and many homes in St George decorated @weathernetwork pic.twitter.com/CiJkEQhtth — Kevin Yarde (@Kevintwn) October 24, 2015
Hundreds of houses in Saint George are decorate for Christmas. Everywhere Evan looks, says his mom, Evan sees Christmas.
“You look out our front window, the entire street is lit up. Everywhere you look it’s Christmas. It’s more than I could have imagined. When Evan looks out his window, the backyard is decorated and there’s a sign saying ‘Merry Christmas.’ “
Besides an early Christmas, Evan also got a gift from the nearby town of Brantford. Evan, who’s always wanted to be a police officer, was made an honorary member of the Brantford Police Department, complete with a badge and a plaque.
Join us at 7 p.m. for a live feed of the Christmas parade for Evan Leversage, 7. https://t.co/zQrp9TeH0r pic.twitter.com/1Od2LE7yxf
— CBC Toronto (@CBCToronto) October 24, 2015
“Evan has always wanted to become a police officer, so yesterday that was part of his wish and he had that come true.”
Last week, Evan’s mom took him on a ride through town to see all the decorations.
“His question is ‘Why?’ My answer is: ‘Because you have a whole town that loves you.’ “
As of this post, a GoFundMe account to help Evan’s mother with Christmas gifts for Evan’s siblings, as well as living expenses for the family, has raised almost $30,000.
[Image via Shutterstock / YanLev]