Little boy inspires community to come together

“Very overwhelming,” she said. Erika, a registered nurse, and her husband, Steve, who works with SaskTel were both born and raised in Prince Albert, where they live with their sons Bentley and Sam.

“We work a lot with the public and help others, right. And so to have this help come back at us is very overwhelming and we did not expect this response at all,” she said.

The support extends beyond the campaign. Even a retailer has stepped up to help. Future Shop donated an iPad mini to the family after hearing that Erika was looking to get one for Bentley. The iPad will be used to help keep him laying on his stomach while his spine heals after an upcoming surgery in January.

For three to five days after the operation, Bentley will have to lay still on his stomach.

Bentley was born with multiple medical issues, and in January, doctors will operate on his spinal cord. The surgery will aim to relieve pressure from a membrane on his cord that is pulling on the lower part of his brain, his cerebellum, downwards.

“It’s kind of scary. He’s had surgeries previously for other congenital anomalies that he has, but this one kind of came out of nowhere. And so, we just found out about it like a month or so ago, I think, and he has to go for surgery in January,” she said.

The toddler will be in the hospital for a while after that, and he won’t be able to take part in any activity for four to six weeks.

Erika said that Bentley doesn’t realize he has all of these medical issues because he’s only three years old and she described him as “the happiest little peanut.”

“Like he’s always smiling, he’s always happy, he’s adorable.”

Bentley’s parents haven’t shared the “full picture” of his story with many people, in hopes that he could just be treated like just a kid. But Erika, who is recognized in the community, is often stopped by others inquiring about Bentley’s health.

Erika said it has been a challenge to get over this part of it, because she doesn’t want others to treat Bentley differently.

But more surgeries may lay ahead for him.

Among the medical issues that Bentley has is mixed abnormalities of the thoracic spine – which Erika described as like having pieces of bone chucked in parts of the vertebrae where his spinal cord is – and an extra half vertebrae near the bottom of his spine.

Orthopedic surgeons monitor him every six months and Erika said they know what one of the surgeries will have to be, but they don’t know about the other. If the surgeons find any of this is causing issues or is causing his scoliosis to get worse or if he’s having problems with lung expansion, then he will be going for surgery again, she said.

The surgeries will then continue for every six months until Bentley has finished growing.

“It’s kind of a lot to process, and it’s all unknowns at this point, but there will be more, for sure,” she said. He’ll also need surgery related to microtia of his right ear – it is underdeveloped.

“We’ve tried to treat him like he’s a kid not with anomalies, you know, we try to treat him like he’s just a kid.”

A friend takes action

The idea to launch a GoFundMe campaign came a couple weekends ago during a conversation between Erika and her friend Deanne Schmaltz. The two have been friends since 2005 and both work as registered nurses.

Schmaltz said she had to do something, Erika said, and added she wondered what her friend living in Kindersley was going to do.

“So, she just started this up, and it exploded,” Erika said.

Schmalz, who started the campaign on Dec. 7, said witnessed the stress Bentley’s parents have been going through. She said her friend was concerned about taking time off of work, which led Schmaltz to think about starting the online fundraiser.

She had approached people about raising funds – she said there was a lot of talk, but there wasn’t really anything happening. But she was inspired to look at GoFundMe after a fundraiser was launched to help a young boy in Kindersley.

“And I thought, well, at least if I do something, like if I start this website and people can at least donate, because I know there was a lot of [people] wanting to do something for them, but you know, there really was nobody that … could do something or narrow it down to something. Well, if I do this at least, then it’s something.”

She’s worked to get the word out via Facebook, and has been shared a number of times.

Schmalz said the support has been unbelievable and goes to show how Bentley has touched everyone’s lives and the love people have for his parents.

“The gratitude that I have that we can actually raise this much, [it] is beyond anything that I ever thought. I had initially put up $10,000 and I honestly didn’t think we’d be able to meet that and just within two days, we had almost $10,000 and I thought, like wow, it’s amazing just the generosity and how … their family and how their stories touch people’s hearts.”

And as a result of the funds raised, Erika said she now won’t have to worry about how she and her husband will provide for her family.

“The sense of community has been amazing and it kind of restores your faith in humanity. I know a lot of people complain a lot about this city and have negative things to say and ‘oh, good old P.A. again,’ and you know, all that kind of stuff, but when it really matters, people will come together and help out and it’s just been a blessing, it’s amazing.”

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames

by Thia James

Little boy inspires community to come together

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