This time of year there is always that warm feeling of magic no matter how chilly the weather might be. And for children that are suffering the imaginable, a little magic is much needed.
On Friday, November 27th over 100 Alberta children dressed in pajamas came together at Aspen Crossing Railway in Mossleigh, Alberta for the inaugural Alberta ride of THE POLAR EXPRESS™ to the North Pole. Aspen Crossing proudly held the inaugural ride for Kids Cancer Care in honour of Jace Hurum, a six-year-old boy from Carstairs, who is battling crangiopharyngioma, a brain tumour of the pituitary gland.
Organizers shared with us a bit about this remarkable little boy. “Jace has always been a healthy, active and attentive child, but when he started playschool at the age of three, his parents noticed that he seemed to be especially sensitive to light. They later noticed that he also seemed to have an intermittent lazy eye. After waiting several months to see an ophthalmologist, Jace was referred to the Alberta Children’s Hospital for an MRI, which revealed severe weakening of the optic nerve. In December, 2014, Jace’s parents learned their son had an egg-sized tumour on his brain. Because the tumour was cystic, it was producing fluid, which was causing pressure on his optic nerve. This was also causing a condition known as hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid that causes the head to enlarge and sometimes causes brain damage. After undergoing brain surgery to release the fluid and its resulting pressure, Jace was diagnosed with crangiopharyngioma, a benign tumour of the pituitary gland, which none the less requires chemotherapy to treat. In addition to multiple brain surgeries, scans and MRIs, Jace has undergone repeated rounds of chemotherapy, which hasn’t been easy. He is being monitored by an ophthalmologist and endocrinologist today at three-month intervals and the doctors believe he is on his way to becoming tumour-free. Jace is happy and doing well at home. He loves kindergarten and playing with his little brother Rory. His family feels extremely fortunate to have such excellent resources and medical help so close to home”.
“THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride is about the need to believe and who needs to believe more than a family battling a child’s cancer diagnosis?” said Donna Biggar, general manager of Aspen Crossing Railway. “This is our gift to these brave families. We all need to believe in something and our wish is that this evening will give these kids and families the magical power of believing again–whether it’s believing in the magic and innocence of childhood, believing in the future or believing in family Christmases to come.”
While aboard THE POLAR EXPRESS™, the families were taken through the magic of the popular Christmas movie. They enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies and a few magical surprises along the way. Set to the music of the motion picture soundtrack, the evening featured re-enactments of the movie, Christmas caroling and a reading of Van Allsburg’s holiday classic.
This POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride in honour of Alberta children with cancer is generously presented by Aspen Crossing Railway and Rail Events, Inc. in cooperation with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Inc., at no cost to the families in the Kids Cancer Care community.
Kids Cancer Care is one of a handful of charities in North America, dedicated to fighting childhood cancer on all fronts. They reach out to families at diagnosis and provide programs and support throughout treatment and beyond. To this end, Kids Cancer Care provides programming and funding in three key areas: 1) Camp and Outreach; 2) Research and Hospital; and 3) Educational Support and Scholarships kidscancercare.ab.ca.
“We’re so touched and honoured that Aspen Crossing would hold this inaugural ride in honour of Jace and all the other children at Kids Cancer Care,” says Jodi Hurum. “Our hope is that this inaugural ride will shine a spotlight on children like Jace and the importance of supporting organizations like Kids Cancer Care, who do so much for these kids and their families.”
