For Desirée Lamoureux it was a surreal experience to return to her Chelmsford home in August after more than two years living at the Ronald McDonald House in Toronto with her son Taylum.
“I almost have to pinch myself,” Lamoureux said. “You pray for it for so long that by the time it actually happens your mind almost has to catch up to everything that has actually transpired.”
Taylum, who is now just over two years old, has captured the hearts of thousands in Sudbury, and across Ontario, with his infectious smile and fortitude against incredible odds.
Taylum was born April 10, 2013 with polycistic kidney disease, which caused large cysts to grow on both his kidneys.
He had to be airlifted to Toronto immediately because his kidneys were on the verge of failing.
Doctors removed one of his kidneys after five weeks, and the second after 10.
He needed to be on dialysis on a regular basis for most of his young life, but on May 13, 2015, thanks to a living donor who had been touched by his story, he received a kidney that give him a new chance at life.
During a visit to the Lamoureux home Wednesday afternoon Taylum was all smiles, and barely noticed a film crew, there on behalf of the SickKids Foundation, that followed him as he played with his toys and ran around the basement.
Taylum was one of 45 children the SickKids Foundation profiled last year for a fundraising campaign, that turned out to be one of the most successful in the hospital's history.
Lisa Charendoff, manager of the SickKids Foundation's ambassador program, said this year the campaign is following up on six of those children, to show donors and supporters the progress they've made thanks to SickKids.
“For all these families, their lives were basically on pause,” Charendoff said.
Donors get an extra peek into those six children's lives, and their money helps fund research, purchase specialized medical equipment, and support the extra dimension of care that is unique to a children's hospital – including the toys and art therapy and make trips to the hospital a bit more bearable.
“The extras that help children be children even though they're sick,” Charendoff said.
Even with his new kidney, Taylum still returns to SickKids every two weeks.
While he has done well, his bloodwork hasn't been perfect, and a couple weeks ago, Lamoureux said they had a big scare when his doctors thought his body might be rejecting the kidney.
After a biopsy they determined he wasn't rejecting the kidney.
Even with the good news, his mom isn't taking anything for granted.
“In the meantime we're enjoying every minute with him because we never know when things can change,” she said.
For more information about the SickKids Foundation, please visit their website.
