Boy’s battle highlights need

Photo: Contributed
Neeley Brimer’s world turned upside down in January 2018 when her seven-year-old son, William Hodgkinson, was diagnosed with a rare and severe form of kidney cancer known as Wilms tumour.
Accompanying the grim diagnosis were 12 tumours in his lungs and another that completely covered his left kidney. That started a gruelling year of medical interventions in Vancouver, including the removal of Hodgkinson’s left kidney, rigorous rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
By the end of 2018, the Penticton family hoped Hodgkinson had turned a corner, spending most of 2019 under the impression that he was cancer free. Unfortunately, the cancer returned in November of that year, and they returned to Vancouver for more treatment until the end of 2020.
“And again, thought that we had it under control, and I think it was about six months later he relapsed again, so we were right back to Vancouver again,” Brimer says.
Hodgkinson received high-dose chemotherapy, followed by a stem cell treatment, and then he had an operation that removed 60% of one of his lungs. That treatment has proved effective.
“It’s been an incredibly long journey,” Brimer says, “but we have just celebrated three years of him being clean.”
Brimer and her family lived at Ronald McDonald House during their time in Vancouver, which is the only place in B.C. to receive treatment for children’s cancers. This relocation had a major impact on Brimer’s life.
“I had to give up my house, had to give up my career,” Brimer says. “You can’t work, and your support system is here (in Penticton). Your family’s here, your friends are here—the people that you lean on and depend on to kind of get your emotional support through.
“So of course that would have been a complete game changer if we were able to do that from home.”
That is why South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation is working hard to raise $10 million to expand its oncology unit. The money will be used to add nurses, expand the treatment bays and purchase state-of-the-art equipment—allowing more South Okanagan residents to receive oncology treatment in Penticton instead of having to make the trek to Kelowna.
“Keeping patients and families as close to home as possible when they’re dealing with unimaginable circumstances is invaluable,” Brimer says. “Whatever we can do to donate to charities or organizations … that would have been invaluable to my family, and I know that it would be invaluable to anybody going to the same thing as we did.”
The great news is William Hodgkinson is a healthy 14-year-old who lives and breathes soccer, is passionate about the food he puts in his body and loves to exercise.
“I’m incredibly proud of his current focuses and making sure that he’s staying positive,” Brimer says. “And he’s in Grade 9 now and trying to get through high school and has normal teen problems, which is amazing.”
To donate to the South Okanagan Similkameen Medical Foundation’s oncology campaign, visit its website here.
This article is written by or on behalf of the sponsoring client and does not necessarily reflect the views of Okanagan Edge.
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