Two-year-old Lynnea Holmstrom from Oliver has such good manners, she even thanks the nurses who give her a needle every week.
“She is so good with manners,” said mom Alanea Holmstrom, who is trying to remain optimistic as her daughter continues chemotherapy treatment for leukemia.
The little girl, affectionately known as ‘NeNe,’ was diagnosed with the disease last November. She has another four months of extensive treatment before it is scaled back to once a month for two years.
It’s something no child should endure, but Lynnea has no choice in the matter. Despite all of this, she continues to embrace life and find happiness.
“She is wonderful about everything. When she’s home she is back to being a kid again. She is always really happy playing around with her brother (Gus).”
As sad as it may sound, Lynnea is getting accustomed to her treatments at BC Children’s Hospital. She needs a blood test once a week to monitor what the leukemia is doing to her body. Yet Lynnea still manages to smile and say hello to all of the doctors and nurses when she walks by their offices.
Alanea said the prognosis for her daughter is good, noting the treatment has a high success rate for a cure. But the side effects worry her.
She pointed out that chemotherapy can damage a child’s nerves and reflexes. And there is a small chance that the drugs can cause secondary cancers, Alanea said.
But for now, she’s trying to focus on the bright side, marvelling at the support the family has received from the hospital and the community.
For example, the new charity in Oliver, Highway to Healing, has donated $500 towards the family’s expenses.
Currently, the family is raising money for the annual “ChildRun” in Vancouver, the largest family fun run in the Lower Mainland. The event is planned for Sunday, June 1.
The family is participating with its own team called “Team Lynnea.”
Last week Alanea held a bake sale at Oliver Place Mall, where she sold all of her gold ribbon sugar cookies. (The gold ribbon symbolizes childhood cancer.)
The bake sale was so successful that it raised $926 for ChildRun. Alanea said a lot of people gave much larger donations than what she was asking for.
“I expected that if we sold every cookie, we would come up with $500, but it exceeded or expectations.”
People can join Team Lynnea as a virtual runner. Just visit www.bcchf.ca/events/event-calendar/childrun/ and search for Team Lynnea.
All donations over $20 will receive an instant tax receipt via email.
Alanea said she has learned so much from her daughter’s ordeal that it has changed her.
She noted it is amazing to see how compassionate and caring people can be in times of personal crises.
“It makes me want to be more like the volunteers . . . to see if I can make a difference in people’s lives.”
Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle
