The “city with the heart of gold” is earning this title yet again as it rallies around a 14-year-old boy with cancer.
Braedyn Johnstone is in Toronto with his mother, Jeannette Johnstone, undergoing radiation and chemotherapy to treat a tumour that is growing over his pituitary gland.
Braedyn’s father, Shawn Johnstone, says Braedyn has a long road ahead of him.
“At present he has two weeks of a six-week radiation therapy complete and has four weeks of 42-week chemotherapy completed,” says Johnstone.
Johnstone describes his son as an “extremely caring boy” who is “laid back.”
“He loves his leisure activities including biking, kayaking, swimming, gaming and cottaging,” says Johnstone. “Braedyn is a joker and is not competitive. He participates in all his activities for fun and loves to socialize.”
Though his treatment has forced Braedyn to take time off from his active lifestyle, his father says he hasn’t lost his spirit.
“At present he is weak on certain days, but his spirits are high and his attitude is excellent,” says Johnstone. “This is hard on the family but this is now our family fight.”
The Johnstone family is not having to do it completely on their own, however.
“Business owners, friends , customers and people we have not met have shown their generosity,” says Johnstone.
A GoFundMe campaign started less than a month ago has exceeded $18,000 out of an original goal of $10,000.
Brush Strokes Timmins organized an art night to raise funds for the family, and Braedyn’s friends from school have offered to shave their heads to raise money.
Friends have also been helping run the Johnstone family businesses, including Pro Tackle in Schumacher and the Timmins Boxing Club at the Confederation Sports Complex on Cameron Hill.
The outpouring of love and support from the community has left the family reeling, Braedyn’s father says.
“Fundraising was not our family’s idea,” Johnstone says. “We are outgoing and social however private and are a little uncomfortable with all that is going on.”
“All the help and support we are receiving is incredibly overwhelming,” he adds.
The students and staff at Timmins High & Vocational School where Braedyn is a student planned a car wash and bake sale fundraiser taking place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Feb. 17 on the high school grounds.
In a video posted on the high school’s Facebook page on Feb. 12, Principal Greg Vincze urged local residents to come out and support the Johnstone family.
“All of the donation that we receive, all of the money that comes in, will go to a local family,” Vincze says in the video. “We have a student here at Timmins High who has recently been diagnosed with cancer and we as a group of staff and students want to rally together to help out this family in need.”
The word seems to have gotten out, because by 11:00 a.m., dozens of cars were lined up waiting to donate to Braedyn’s cause and get their vehicles washed in the process.
“We're overwhelmed by the community support,” says Vincze. “The whole community rallied behind this family. It's phenomenal."
Vincze says that people also walked in and provided cash donations, not even asking for a cash wash in exchange.
Johnstone says the funds “will be used to help offset the 12-month stay in Toronto and costly travel expenses.“
As far as Braedyn’s progress towards recovery, Johnstone says there’s indication that the tumour is shrinking.
This bit of good news, coupled with the outpouring of support from the community, leaves the Johnstone family feeling grateful.
“Timmins is a very caring community and I believe our slogan should still be "the city with the heart of gold," says Johnstone.
The car wash and bake sale will be ongoing until 3 p.m. today at Timmins High & Vocational School on Theriault Boulevard in Timmins.
