Community rallys around Shelburne boy diagnosed with leukemia

Written By PAULA BROWN

LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

It started with a black swollen eye and a scheduled MRI by their doctor, but before they could make the trip down to SickKids hospital, blood tests confirmed an early diagnosis of leukemia. 

Three-year-old Hunter, a Shelburne local, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in October, and is preparing to start his third round of chemotherapy before Christmas. 

According to the American Cancer Society, AML is one of the most common types of leukemia in adults, accounting for only one per cent of all cancers; AML is generally seen in older people. 

Going in to check his eye, Hunter's mother, Shelby Squirrell said a cancer diagnosis is never something you expect to hear. 

“Leading up to that date, there was absolutely nothing showing that he was sick or anything,” said Squirrell. “He was perfectly healthy kid and so other than this black and swollen eye we wouldn't have ever known that he… had leukemia until it showed up in his blood.”

Continuing she said, “They told us that we had caught it super early.” 

Once they had received Hunter's diagnosis, his family started preparing for his treatments, which include four rounds of chemotherapy at SickKids hospital in Toronto. 

Prior to his chemotherapy, Hunter undergoes a lumbar puncture as well as bone aspirate, says Squirrell, then he goes through eight to 10 days of a chemo treatment cycle and then they wait for his counts to go back up. 

“It's fairly hard to try and tell a three year old that he has cancer,” said Squirrell. “He knows for the most part that he's sick, but he doesn't know what cancer is. He knows he's in the hospital for a reason and he's there to get help and that he's going to get better.” 

While Hunter goes through his treatments, the family has been staying in Toronto at the Ronald McDonald House, having been home only twice since October. With COVID-19 restrictions, only one parent is allowed in the hospital room at a time with him, and to hold onto their spot at the Ronald McDonald House they can't leave it vacant for more than 24 hours at a time.  

“We've had to make it so we switch over at night and one of us goes to the Ronald McDonald House and the other one stays at bedside was Hunter for the night and then the following we switch back off.” 

Staying in the city, the family has had to also deal with the financial setbacks that come along. In the hopes of offsetting the burden, extended family members have started the Huddle Up For Hunter initiative. 

“I don't know how you financially balance it or how you emotionally balance it,” said Karen Cottingham, aunt of Hunter and one of the organizers of Huddle Up For Hunter. “You're isolated, you're having to choose; I can't imagine all the emotions they're going through.” 

The group has created a number of fundraising events, including donation jars with orange ribbons placed in businesses, a bottle drive, and a raffle drive. 

“We can't be around Hunter at all and normally if somebody is in the hospital, you drop food off at their house, you go down to the hospital, you help them out and do whatever you can, but we can't do any of that because of COVID,” said Cottingham. “We thought this is a way that the community and our friends and family can be involved and hopefully raise some money to help them.”

The name ‘Huddle Up for Hunter,' Cottingham said, comes from the idea of a COVID-19 style hug. 

“You can't actually be close, but you know, the feelings are there,” she said. 

At the time of print, Huddle Up for Hunter has raised through its bottle drive approximately $1,400 for the family and with more to count, donations are expected to be around $2,000. A raffle drive will be held on Dec. 23 which includes six prizes, with tickets available at Cobwebs and Caviar in Shelburne. 

Donations for Huddle Up for Hunter will be collected until the end of December. 

“It's unbelievable the phenomenal support Shelburne has given us,” said Cottingham.