Friends of a Maple Ridge man are raising money to send him to Toronto to be with his three-year-old daughter who is battling an aggressive form of cancer.
A gofundme campaign has raised nearly $8,000 for Braydon Bliss, whose daughter Kacey is scheduled to undergo surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children, known as SickKids, in Toronto.
READ MORE: Surrey getting a new hospital, in Cloverdale
Jeff Bright and Angela Dewhurst started the campaign with a goal of raising $10,000, according to the gofundme page.
Money raised will cover the cost of flights, accommodation, wages lost and Kacey’s continued cared.
“Braydon told me about the surgery his daughter was going through and I felt he needed to be there for her. It broke my heart. I have a daughter and it’s unimaginable,” Bright said.
Kacey was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer and recently underwent chemotherapy, the page explains.
Rhabdomyosarcoma starts in muscle cells or in tissues that are “precursors to muscle cells,” according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
This type of cancer is the most common type of soft tissue sarcoma that occurs in children. It is rare in adults.
Kacey’s surgery is scheduled for Jan. 6 at SickKicks, where doctors will remove her vaginal cavity up to her cervix and replace the walls with skin from inside her mouth, the gofundme page explains.
The procedure has never been performed at Vancouver Children’s Hospital, according to Bright.
READ MORE: New primary care centre now open in Maple Ridge
“The long-term plan is to have Kacey back in Maple Ridge,” he said. “After this surgery, she will undergo another nine months of chemotherapy, and will be back and forth to the cancer ward in Vancouver Children’s Hospital.”
Recently, Best Buy in Coquitlam Centre donated a new iPad and a subscription to Disney+ for Braydon to bring to Kacey to help her during her recovery.
Friends are expecting to send Braydon to Toronto from Jan. 4 to 12.
Afterwards, a family member will be staying with Kacey while she recovers in hospital.
“Braydon is a friend of mine and I am beyond grateful for all of the love and support that he has already received from everyone,” said Bright.
“I will be withdrawing funds to book his flight and accommodations mid-December.”
@JotiGrewal_
joti.grewal@blackpress.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.