A group of Cranberry Portage students went the extra mile to see an ill classmate last week, thanks to the work of school staff and charities.
Kailyn Danielson, a Grade 4 student at Cranberry Portage Elementary School, has been in Winnipeg undergoing treatment for brain cancer for the past three months. Over that time, Kailyn has missed classes and has not had the chance to see her friends and classmates. At times, she’s been able to use FaceTime and Skype to see her friends, but Kailyn hadn’t seen most of them face-to-face since the fall.
Not long ago, Kailyn said she had a wish. Unable to go to class and see her school friends, she wanted for them to come down to see her.
“Her wish was that she wanted her whole class to be able to visit her. There was a sense that maybe we could do that another way and we were able to do that,” said Reg Klassen, chief superintendent for Frontier School Division.
Once word of the wish reached the north, teachers and division officials got to work, calling businesses and asking if they could help make Kailyn’s dream come true. Some accepted the challenge.
“After those enquiries, phone calls and letters, we had enough businesses step up that we were able to take our kids and fly them into Winnipeg in the morning and they could spend a good portion of the day with Kailyn and we flew them back home again,” said Klassen.
On March 20, Kailyn’s wish came true. A charter flight was arranged through Calm Air and charity organization The Dream Factory to fly Kailyn’s entire class to Winnipeg to meet her during treatment. A total of 17 kids and three chaperones made the trip.
“We were able to provide a pretty significant day for students in that class. For some of them, this was a first event. Some of them hadn’t been on a plane before. That was a big deal. Kailyn got to be with her classmates, which had been something she hadn’t been able to experience for quite a while,” Klassen said.
“She was pretty excited. I was speaking to her mother the day before and I hoped she could get some sleep that night and not be tired the next day since it would be a pretty busy day, especially since she’s needing to find strength and energy to deal with the treatments.”
Klassen said there was a great deal of happiness and excitement when the kids and Kailyn met once again.
“The mood felt right. For that moment, the class being together, all of them there, I think it kind of felt normal in some way, even though there is nothing normal about Kailyn’s life right now as she fights a challenging disease,” Klassen said. “I think for that moment, we saw quite a few kids take time to give her hugs. That’s kind of an emotional thing to watch when you’re in Grades 4, 5 and 6.”
The wish also came with some good news. According to a CBC News report on the visit, Kailyn finished her last radiation treatment last week, meaning she may soon be able to come home and return to class. She will be able to fight the disease using medication.
