At least in Canada, anyway. And if you don’t count the tragedy in Haiti, because quite frankly, that’s not playing fair, no contest!
Yes, I was going to blog about how Pakistanis must donate to Haiti (and I will within the next 24 hours) but this story caught the eye and, well…welled it up.
Photo Credit: RON SCHEFFLER/THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR
So here you have Tucker Patterson, who has not yet reached his third birthday but is terminally ill with the rare Leigh disease.
He and his family are big hockey fans – so much so that he is himself named after Canadian (and former Leaf) Darcy Tucker.
He can’t play, though, for his motor functions have been devastated and he can neither walk, talk, or eat. His father’s dream of being a hockey dad seemed destined to remain simply a dream.
Especially when the family’s request to take Tucker onto the rink in their hometown of Hamilton was denied.
Enter the Maple Leafs, and hey presto, this morning was an emotional and joyous moment for the family as Tucker was rolled around the Air Canada Centre by his twin sister and beamed in delight as he was surrounded by superstar after superstar.
Watch the video here. (CBC – the CTV clip, the one I found better, is linked to below.)
Call me sappy, but there’s just something about a dying kid who gets his last wish fulfilled that makes me both incredibly happy and sad.
Look at this video by CTV. He’s smiling, and there’s the mother talking about how incredible this is for her because ‘I will never be able to walk him to school.’ She can’t stop her tears from shining in her eyes. The dad can’t stop smiling. Tucker can’t stop smiling. It’s a great story, and it’s a brilliant example of little acts of kindness that light up one’s day. Big businesses are not necessarily bad; in fact, to their credit, the Maple Leafs franchise hasn’t tried to pull any positive publicity and goodwill out of this. Nothing on their website. Just like Sylvia and Up; just a ray of sunshine.
Well done, Maple Leafs. And thank you.
Nabeel Ahmed 
This is beautiful.
Oh wow! That is touching:) Great story too
I thought so too!
very touching story ! I can’t believe that his home town rink refused to give him ice time! thanks for sharing
I know, right? Shameful!
i’m going to blog about that in detail very soon. i have a theory, and i don’t think that the employee who refused was particularly diabolical.
sniff
wipe
Thanks so much for this blog. My 5 1/2 year old son has the exact same disease.
Hi Beth,
Please see if this will be of help to your son http://www.divyayoga.com
They offer free Pranayam cure for patients.
Regards,
Amit.
I hope he is happy and that you are savoring the sunshine in your house 🙂
It is so sad to hear of an innocent sick child. But I believe, I truly do, that God will give you the strength to handle this and the joy to balance the pain. Be strong, and take care.
Dear Beth, I wrote these wonderful people and told them to look up these things in this order.
M-state materials (higher power than gold and silver colloids)
Rife Technology (1000WW websites, prime site http://www.rubysemporium.org/)
the DHEA connection with Mitochondrial disease. Here are some of the leigh disease experts worldwide and their emails (and the page I got it off)
Robinson, Brian http://www.sickkids.ca/AboutSickKids/Directory/People/R/Brian-Robinson.html bhr@sickkids.ca
LeighDisease expert authors list at this URL http://www.biomedexperts.com/Concept.bme/12315/Leigh_Disease
Please do not hesitate to email me if you have any extra ANYTHING that you would like. It would be my great pleasure to provide it too you!!! gw72187@yahoo.ca
Sincerely: Alex sorry cut names out cause it wouldnt send!
Beth, I put up some comments, I have a big 3 email POST that I sent to them as well, and would be more than happy to provide it to you as well, I believe that this comes from Jesus, so thankfully it’s not possible for me to mess it up because of that! You can take this to the bank and beyond that this is way more power than what that well meaning but misinformed Pranayama yoga suggestion person gave…if only they knew the reality of this disease and how horrible it is…
I’m there for you, and ALL of those affected by this. I will not work for cash…but I will work to save lives!
Sincerely: your friend
Alex: (gw72187@yahoo.ca)
God Bless you and all your family, especially the one that currently has Leight Disease, May you all be free from the terrible complications of this disorder.
I am a technology information specialist who has worked on computer since the age of 8, and am close to 40 now (and I’ve got a few other useful skills 2)
Site ADmin, why did you delete the half of my msg that had MOST of the useful information in it??? This makes no sense at all, and do not believe it was a compassionate entity that caused you to do this…please rethink your decision for Beth and for Tucker and for all of us…thank you!
Alex
Sry, Im half an idiot…for some reason the msg. wasnt showing. I apologize for accusing you of any degree of censorship…the error was mine alone…thank you for wonderul site with good posts!
Sincerely:
Alex
No problem…I thought you had a misunderstanding and was going to check it after I got home from work. I didn’t delete any comments, but I think there is one that I haven’t approved yet. Is that the one you’re referring to?
This broke my heart but made me feel happy at the same time. Such a cute kid, life is too unfair to too many.
I completely agree. A classic example of how one can laugh and cry at the same time. Heartwarming yet heartbreaking, no?
Exactly, heartwarming yet heartbreaking. You said it perfectly.
one can make a difference in other people’s lives in unique and amazing way,
thank you for the touching story..
Indeed. as mother teresa said, ‘we shall never know all the good a simple smile can do.’
So let’s share the love while we can. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Wow, what an incredible story! Many people need to read this and grasp that yes, their actions really can make a difference. Thank you so much for this reminder!
I reiterate – Mother Teresa’s words of wisdom are too easily forgotten. Let us simply smile and spread love, and as Conan said, if you work hard and remain kind, amazing things will happen. Thank you for commenting! 🙂
that is actually a really touching story. This little boy has got his whole life ahead of him but he can’t. I pray he gets better and the disease leaves him alone.
the pity is that he doesn’t have a LONG life ahead of him. i pray that his family remains happy and strong and united, and that tucker is happy wherever he goes.
This brought tears to my eyes 😦 I have a little girl who will be two in September and I can’t imagine what this beautiful little boy’s parents have had to endure. May God bless the Patterson family.
completely agree.first,it is painful to see an upset toddler.but then the parents must have gone through a great deal of pain,and that’s why what choked ME up was the part where the mother fails to hide tears in her eyes.i hope the family can be happy and strong – Amen to that.
Nabeel,
Thank you for sharing this story about Tucker. My blessings to him and his family.
From another Dad,
David
http://www.thewondertechnique.com
Amen to that.
very touching indeed
i agree.
Wonderful story–thanks for posting.
Thank you 🙂
Wow… I’m touched. I had no idea about Leigh disease, but I will certainly read more on it…
Not much to know – it’s just one of those things that cannot be really helped, which is why it provokes only sadness and not anger. It’s not like diarrhea or polio, which are completely preventable for the most part.
As a pediatric RN I have sadly seen too many children that will never run, play or ride a trike. Some can barely move. Though some of this is genetic/disease based, many children lose their motor abilities at a very young age, simply because they are the victims of near-
drownings. There is a 4 foot webbed baby fence around my home pool. It cost me under $400. I have no babies at my house, but I wouldn’t be without it. It should be the law, but apparently it is only the law for new pools. I urge everyone who cares at all to let your request be known to your community powers that be, “Let there be laws mandating fencing for pools, both old and new.” Thanks everyone for your participation in this.
You are undoubtedly extremely strong and above all, human – may God (swt) be with you. I agree that children should never be allowed near a pool without careful adult supervision – no one, actually, unless he/she can swim or take care of himself/herself in the water.
wow so moving! I think that the people who turned him away should be ashamed of themselves – who values the rules of ‘health and safety’ over the memories of a terminally ill child?
lovess
luna
xxx
http://www.urbanoptimist.wordpress.com
well,perhaps it was an honest mistake. i wouldn’t like to think that the employee who turned this family away was a bad person – i’ll elaborate more in a blog post soon.
What a sad story, me being a Mom of 2 with one being a 5 year old, I could’nt imagine how to deal with that..God Bless them, 😦 makes you really appreciate what you got 😉 xo
http://www.Anniemonavie.wordpress.com
indeed. amen. we should all be thankful for what we have.
awwww….. it’s really a touching story! i really have a soft spot for children, which is why I liked your article. congratulations on being featured in WP. 😀
thank you 🙂 i have no idea how it happened,but it really gave my blog a little exposure, which is nice because I do work hard at it and no one visits.
it is indeed touching – and I think we all have a soft spot for ill children 🙂
Wow! That is very sad. Not able to eat,talk or walk,and got rejected by a commuity and home hockey team ice arrena! This is a touching story. 🙂
yes,and i’m glad it had a happy ending 🙂
I did Terminal Care for many years and this story makes me grafeful to my Maker that I have healthy children and Grandchildren. My heart goes out to the people who love him. Their is a special place in heaven for this child.
i completely,completely agree. there has to be a special place for tucker patterson up there…i just hope that his family remains strong and happy.
Well done! Thanks for posting this!
thank you! 🙂
Wonderful! People with special needs can share so many wonderful things. Sometimes I wonder if they are as God wants them to be and perhaps “we” are disabled instead of them?
Anyway…great story. There is so much “bad” news all over the TV and Internet that a little GOOD NEWS is appreciated and goes a long way.
yes. not enough of the positives around the world are highlighted by the media. but i did find out about this through the newspapers and then (as you can see) the television. so they had a great role to play in this too.
I’m so glad I read this.
I’m glad it happened 🙂
Thank you for sharing Tucker Patterson with us.
Thank you for adding to the chorus of prayers for the Pattersons. Even if you haven’t specifically prayed for them, I am sure you felt something, and I believe God (swt) is powerful and sensitive enough to pick up on that.
Great moving story. Small acts of kindness can achieve big things
They can indeed.
I really wish to see this child play hockey. Is there any way I can reach his parent? There are some pranayam centres which may help the child.
I really don’t know, Amit. But my limited understanding is that the child cannot be helped and is spending his last days with family.
When I read something like this I almost always dream of the impossible, that somehow little Tucker will be a miracle child who will astound the medical world by overcoming the odds. Or, that; as in the case of Lorenzo’s Oil, a treatment will be developed to stop the progression of the disease or even reverse the damage. But, all that aside, Tucker now knows miracles do happen, for he was on ice with his beloved Maple Leafs.
*ps Wouldn’t it be nice if all children’s dreams were fulfilled? I think we need more dreams and more dream granters. Yours truly, Don Quixote
of course it would be nice,but i honestly believe that there’s a rhyme and reason to everything that happens in life,even if we don’t get it. sometimes we only find out later – hindsight 20/20 – and sometimes we have to accept that we can’t understand what’s happening. but we still have to dream 🙂
Awww! So touching… and emotional…
Indeed.
Wow… It’s great to see people doing such stuff!!!! If people continue such initiatives, then there is indeed lots of hope for the future of our race.
i think many people do many kind things every day – unfortunately we don’t hear of them often enough.
Thanks too for posting the story and saying “thanks”. We are quick to rant on and on about all the bad stuff companies do – but maybe if we spent a little more time acknowledging and paying homage (and rightfully so) to the good things they do – the people that run these companies would be more inclined to do the right thing, simply because ‘its the right thing to do’ and know that people appreciate them for that. So thank YOU for posting this and saying “thanks”.
Also sending my good thoughts that Darcy’s heart be filled with the love of his family and memories filled with wonderful moments like these.
thank you for appreciating my efforts. i often feel that too much of the good in this world is ignored and passed over whereas it needs to be publicized as much as possible for virtuous instead of vicious cycles to flourish.
many people hate big businesses,especially in the aftermath of the bailout,but my stance is that no one is an angel, and no one is a devil…we’re all somewhere in between,and if we just try to be better individually,everything can improve 🙂
by the way,the boy’s name is Tucker, not Darcy 🙂
I am very glad to start this day by finding your post. Thank you for reminding me what is important. Love and respect for another human. Take care. Beth
thank you. yes indeed. it isn’t often part of the to do list 🙂
I have a soon 12 year old kid with CP who is a HUGE fan of hockey and the team Luleå Hockey in the north of Sweden. He has a few times had the opportunity to meet his Hockey-idols like Peter Forsberg and Marcus Näslund. He also got Marcus Näslunds hockeystick and keeps it in his room and nearly nobody are aloud to touch it.
He drives his wheeslchair (Permobil) with his head and have a few times been asked by Luleå Hockey to deliver the puck berfore the game starts. This link below to his blog and a little film from when Luleå met Forbergs Icebreakers…
http://mackep.wordpress.com/2008/08/31/marcus-puckleverantor/
The quality might not be so good but the memory never fade…
Bets regards / Lasse and Marcus…
🙂
yes,it is the memories that sustain us.
i saw the video.it must have been a great moment!
Yes, a great and a nervous moment. I asked him if he was nervous. Nope, he said. He was on the best place for Hockey at the moment…
🙂
This is the website with spiritual medicine #1
Rubysemporium.org
(you can’t read this site and not TRULY be WOWED)
This is the website with NATURAL medicine #2
Doctoryourself.com
(It’s really an in your face LIFESAVER)
This is the website were artificial medicine can be found
(actually I don’t need to put this, we’re surrounded by such)
Now if only us humans can be humble enough and smart enough to work
them into a unified WHOLE 🙂
oh! it is nervous