Donations like Elias Pettersson's help benefit local families

Vancouver, B.C. -The act of giving, whether big or small, is an opportunity to make a difference. For over 35 years, Canucks For Kids Fund has done that for many people through support for its three core beneficiaries - the Canucks Autism Network, Canuck Place Children's Hospice and BC Children's Hospital Foundation - as well as many other local organizations. This is especially the case when it comes to the families of Evan Bissoondatt and Cameron Bulger.

Evan Bissoondatt was diagnosed with autism when he was 13 years of age. Before that diagnosis, doctors believed he had developmental coordination disorder. But that didn't seem right, as the support from occupational therapists wasn't working. Evan's mother Bernadette, was determined to find an answer, and they were referred to a psychiatrist, who discovered that Bissoondatt was on the spectrum of autism.
"It was more like a lightbulb moment," Bernadette said. "It actually made more sense that it was autism. Everything was sort of pointing towards that. How the psychiatrist explained it to us, it was really heavily on the social aspect and the things that were sort of missing with Evan."
Now that the proper diagnosis was found, what was next?
"I'm the type of mom where I would do all the research and put Evan in all types of different programs," she explained. "The great thing about Evan is that he is very open to trying new things too. He doesn't give up. He puts himself out there, and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out." Even so, Bissoondatt was still concerned about the stigma of being autistic.
"He really didn't like it," Bernadette stated. "He had expressed to us, especially at school, that he didn't want the label of autism. He was worried that people may think differently of him or may not like him. He was really struggling with it for a while."
In came the Canucks Autism Network, which was recommended to the family via a social worker. Bissoondatt takes part in numerous virtual and in-person programs, which has helped with his confidence, along with his social skills and has never looked back.
"We had very positive experiences with every program that Evan took part with Canucks Autism Network," Bernadette said. "We thought that we didn't really have to look for other activities for him because the programs with Canucks Autism Network were doing wonders and were enough for him. Evan always tells us how amazing the Canucks Autism Network coaches are." Bissoondatt grew so inspired by the coaches to the point that he began volunteering for the entry-level programs within the Canucks Autism Network this fall while still taking part in programs that fit for his age group. His goal is to become a coach for the Canucks Autism
Network himself. "It's really amazing," Bernadette said. "He gets to do what he likes to do. It's really amazing that Evan gets to see first-hand if this is what he wants as his career. He gets to see what it's like helping kids and get that experience. So far, he's had an amazing experience. I think it's made it clearer to us and to him that this is likely going to be his path."
"It's almost every week that I tell people about Evan's success due to the Canucks Autism Network, and I actually give them examples of what his experiences are. I can't tell them enough the programs at the Canucks Autism Network, both virtual and in person and that they are doing wonders for him. Now that he gets to crossover and do both participating and volunteering, he's getting his social skills and so much more. It's just a win-win situation."
In 2018 Sharon Bulger was in her office at work when she got a call no parent wants to receive. It was from the school that her six-year-old son Cameron attended. Cameron suddenly was unable to speak or make eye contact. He had suffered multiple seizures, 14 of them, to be exact. When he was rushed to the nearest hospital, it was revealed via CT scan that he had a mass in the right frontal lobe of his brain. He was then transferred to BC Children's Hospital, where he underwent surgery that removed 99 percent of the mass. However, additional tests revealed that Cameron had a grade IV malignant embryonic brain tumour. The family was told there wasn't a cure, so they could either take Cameron home to live out the last few months or try and give him some extreme rounds of chemotherapy and stem cell transplants, which were only treatment trials. There was no guarantee that any of it would work because there was no cure for that form of cancer. Still, Bulger and her husband Glenn knew that Cameron was a fighter, and they were willing to do anything to save their son's life. "It was really, really intense," Bulger said. "Cameron got really sick and we basically lived on the eighth floor oncology ward at BC Children's Hospital for six months." After the BC Children's Hospital protocol was complete, the family moved to Seattle for radiation therapy for another seven weeks before returning home.
Then, in January of 2019, it was declared that Cameron was in remission.
"It was super exciting for us," Bulger said. "We started rebuilding our lives, and he started going back to school and hanging out with his friends. We just started rebuilding what we had lost." However, the disease returned just a few months later, but this time the cancer was in the centre of Cameron's brain, which made it inoperable. It was terminal, and there wasn't anything anyone could do.
Knowing that Cameron's time was limited, he was transitioned from BC Children's Hospital to Canuck Place Children's Hospice. "The pain and symptom management was really important to us," Bulger explained. "Then we started working with their enhanced community care program, where they have nurses and a team that actually come to your house to help support Cameron with everything that was happening in that period of time." "They brought counsellors in for Cameron. They brought counsellors for us. Their nurses and care team were able to support us and made sure we kept memories and spent as much quality time with each other. We were super grateful for that. Due to COVID, we made the decision to stay home for end of life for Cameron."
On the morning of May 16, 2020, Cameron passed away surrounded by all his loved ones.
The family is forever grateful for both BC Children's Hospital and Canuck Place Children's Hospice and thankful for Canucks For Kids Fund. "The importance of a donation to Canucks For Kids Fund is that it allows places like BC Children's Hospital and Canuck Place to wrap around families in their most terrifying moments and support them," Bulger said. "They provide much needed care and support to kids and family and help with their challenges."
As today marks #GivingTuesday, Vancouver Canucks forward Elias Pettersson is doing to do just that. As part of the initiative, he will be donating $50,000 to the Canucks For Kids Fund. "Giving back to the community has always been important to me," Pettersson said. "Whether it's meeting with the families who are going through a hard time and spending a few minutes with them to brighten up their day, or making a donation, I'm just glad I'm able to give back to the city I've come to know and love."
We hope fans will join Petey on this day of giving by making a donation at
https://www.nhl.com/canucks/community/canucksforkids/donate
and selecting the EP40 Fund.