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Giving blood and thanks over the holidays

Maple Ridge teen Sam Sherren teams up with Canadian Blood Services on Friday, Oct. 6
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(Contributed) Sam Sherren received 33 blood transfusions while fighting cancer. He’s teamed up with Canadian Blood Services to host a drive on Friday, Oct. 6 from noon to 7 p.m. at the Maple Ridge Alliance Church.

As Thanksgiving approaches, Sam Sherren has a little more than turkey and cranberries on his mind.

On April 6, 2016, just one week after he celebrated his 17th birthday, the Maple Ridge teenager had his life turned upside down when he was diagnosed with cancer.

Sherren was told he had medulloblastoma, a brain tumor. The news didn’t get much better from there. More tests were ordered. Then he found out he also had a small tumor behind one eye and cluster of tumors at the bottom of his spine.

The long road to an uncertain future lay in front of the young Thomas Haney secondary student.

He didn’t know what to think at first.

“It was really difficult, for sure,” said Sherren. “It was not the nicest birthday present. I was devastated.”

The first step was surgery to remove as much of the tumour as possible, located in the cerebellum. Doctors were able to remove 95 per cent of it.

After surgery, he went into cranial and spinal radiation for the next month, combined with weekly chemotherapy treatments.

After a five-week break, he was faced with six months of chemotherapy. Sherren spent three to four days a month going to the hospital to for three different chemotherapy treatments.

As part of that, the 17-year-old received 33 blood transfusions.

While he had his “bad days,” he said he never lost hope. Sherren fought through the debilitating affects of his chemo and radiation treatments to not only keep up with his studies at school, but graduate with honours and be named the class valedictorian at Thomas Haney.

In August, 16 months after his diagnosis, Sherren’s MRI came back cancer free.

He’s heading to the University of the Fraser Valley in January 2018.

But his fight continues.

Now he wants to help give back to the nameless people who helped save his life.

“I never realized just how important blood donation was until I needed it,” said Sherren. “And just how much more is needed.”

So Sherren has teamed up with Canadian Blood Services to hold a drive being held at Maple Ridge Alliance Church, 20399 Dewdney Trunk Rd. that runs Friday, Oct. 6 from noon to 7 p.m.

Because of his cancer and treatments, Sherren can’t donate, but he’s hoping the community will step forward.

According to Razvan Sichitiu of Canadian Blood Services, the need for blood at this time of year is critical.

He said half of Canadians will need a blood transfusion at some point in their life.

However, only one in 60 people donate.

“What Sam is doing is trying to create the awareness, especially over the long weekend, where we have a greater need,” said Sichitiu.

He said the call is for anyone eligible to donate, but those with O-negative are considered universal donors, because anyone needing a transfusion can accept that specific blood-type in the critical moments after trauma.

Sichitiu said it only takes an hour and anyone can setup their appointment at blood.ca

Sherren said there are 70 appointments to fill at the blood drive, and anyone going can use the code SAMU664014 to link their donation towards his pledge.

He said the idea of the blood drive around Thanksgiving only makes sense, considering how much he has to be thankful for.

“Having my family and friends with me was so important. Just knowing they were there for me gave the hope that I was going to get better,” said Sherren.

He’s looking forward to the day when he will wake up and his cancer will be nothing more than a distant memory. But for this weekend, he’s happy to share his story of cancer if it will prompt the community to respond.