Lisa Kristmanson knew there was something seriously wrong with her seven-year-old daughter's eyesight.
"Some tests were performed, but they couldn't give specific answers," said Kristmanson, of her daughter Makenzie Campbell.
Initially, doctors thought the little girl was hard of hearing but her mother suspected vision impairment because Makenzie was always squinting, more than normal.
"They thought it was her hearing but it was because she was concentrating so hard on seeing," added the Steveston resident.
After a visit to an ophthalmologist didn't alleviate her worries, Kristmanson took her daughter to a vision clinic. It was there that an MRI was recommended.
"By this time, Makenzie was having absent seizures where she'd tune out for a few minutes," added her mom.
In 2007, she was diagnosed with optic nerve glioma, a form of cancer, which has developed into an inoperable tumor on her optic nerve.
To make matters worse, doctors soon found out Makenzie was allergic to chemotherapy. Although the cancer has caused the 12-year-old to be visually impaired, it hasn't stopped her from living like a typical preteen. And like other kids her age, Makenzie's favourite summertime memory was camp.
For the past two years, she and 10-yearold brother Matthias have been packing up their bathing suits and heading to Camp Goodtimes, at Loon Lake in Maple Ridge.
The camp is a weeklong free, fun-filled, medically supervised camp for children with cancer and their siblings.
"Makenzie can go there with other kids who understand how she feels and just be a kid for a week," said her mom, who moved to Richmond two years ago to be closer to Children's Hospital.
Makenzie shyly added, "I had fun and made lots of new friends. I also like the dancing and canoeing on the lake and the rope bridge is a lot of fun too."
That's why Makenzie, a junior Cops for Cancer member, will be cheering on Richmond RCMP officers Kyle Simpson and Louis-Philippe Gendron-Fafard, who are both taking part in their debut Cops for Cancer 2012 Tour de Coast ride.
Both Richmondites have been training for months to be ready for this year's Tour de Coast. From Sept. 19 to 27, the two will join another 31 emergency personnel from across the province to pedal an often grueling 4,000 kilometers over some tough B.C. terrain.
Like nearly all of us, this insidious disease personally affected Simpson. Simpson's grandmother recently lost her battle with cancer of the liver and bones.
"Throughout the year that my grandma fought this disease, I felt helpless in the fact that there was nothing I could do to change what was happening," said the six-year RCMP member.
Simpson has raised more than $7,115, while Gendron-Fafard, a five-year veteran of the force, is closing in at just more than $5,500. Gendron-Fafard is cycling, not because anyone close to him has cancer, but for children who are battling cancer.
"I'm a new uncle and although my nephew is healthy, I wanted to raise money for those children who aren't so lucky," said the transplanted Quebecer.
A visit to Camp Goodtimes, a weeklong camp for children fighting cancer, was another defining moment for both.
"To see these kids, who you know are battling cancer, have fun and be happy was so moving," said Simpson. "That really made me want to do this even more."
Besides Camp Goodtimes, money raised during the Tour de Coast benefits important programs such as pediatric cancer research in Canada, financial assistance and support for children and families, transportation for families to and from their cancer-related appointments, as well as accommodations for families travelling away from home.
"The Canadian Cancer Society has been incredible to us," said Kristmanson. "We were living in Prince Rupert for the first few years of Makenzie's cancer. We had to come down to Vancouver every three months and the society covered some of our expenses. I will do anything to help out the cancer society - I owe them so much."
In the meantime, Makenzie is looking forward to beginning Grade 7 at Lord Byng elementary.
A fundraiser happens on Wednesday, Sept. 26 at the Riverside Banquet Hall, Grand Ballroom, #230-14500 River Rd. Tickets are $55 and include dinner, a raffle and live entertainment. All the proceeds go to cover the cost of children attending Camp Goodtimes. For more information about this fundraiser, visit www.copsforcancerbc.ca.
STATISTICS
- It costs about $1,500 per week for one participant at Camp Goodtimes.
- About 600 children, siblings and family members attend camp each year.
- Last year in BC-Yukon, Cops for Cancer raised $2.6 million
- Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death in children after accidents.
- On average, 850 Canadian children between birth and 14 develop cancer every year.
- About 82 per cent of children with cancer will survive at least five years after diagnosis.
mhopkins@richmond-news.com
