A Chelmsford family received a unique gift Tuesday to give them some financial stability, two years after their seven-year-old daughter was diagnosed with cancer.
Kylee Jewers was five years old when her parents discovered a lump on her shoulder.
At first they thought the lump was a cyst, but after a series of tests doctors discovered she had soft tissue sarcoma.
After a number of surgeries, doctors in Sudbury and Toronto were able to remove the cancer, but in September 2014 they found a millimetre mass in her right lung.
“It had spread to her lung,” said Kylee's mom, Josée Jewers.
Kylee received chemotherapy treatments at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. She has been cancer-free for a year and a half, but her mom said her doctors can't say she is in remission until she reaches the five-year mark.
When Kylee was first diagnosed with soft-tissue sarcoma, the news got back to Jean-Marc Pitre, whose daughter was in the same class.
Pitre is the owner of Enviro Energy, a local company dedicated to renewable energy builds.
When he heard about Kylee's diagnosis he thought of a unique way his company could help her family.
On Tuesday, Enviro Energy worked with local contractors to install a solar panel system to the Jewers family's roof valued at around $38,000.
Through the province's microFIT program, the Jewers will be able to generate income from energy they return to the system, and sale back to Hydro One, each month.
Megan Decaire, Enviro Energy's marketing and sales executive, said the system is expected to generate around $5,000 for the Jewers every year, for 20 years.
“The donation is going to be for uncertainties that may happen financially, or if she gets sick again,” said Josée Jewers.
While Kylee is healthy, she needs to return to Toronto every six months for a check-up.
Her mom said the funds generated from the solar panels will give her family a bit more long-term security.
