
On Tuesday, April 3rd, The Met Campus at Windsor Regional Hospital was fortunate enough to be visited by two inspiring individuals. Iain and Chantelle Macri, the founders of the Fight Like Mason Foundation. A generous donation of 39 IV Poles to Paediatric Services had been publicly presented.
Each IV Pole is uniquely and lovingly customized to make any child smile and, comfort families in their time of need. The Fight Like Mason Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded by Iain Macri and Chantelle Bacon, loving parents of Mason Bacon-Macri who was diagnosed on May 4th, 2015 with Rhabdomyosarcoma; a rare and grueling form of childhood cancer, at the young age of 2.
After his passing, Mason's parents thought of no greater way to honour him but to continue carrying his name through building a foundation to help other children and their families just like their own. Their mission is to improve the treatment, care, quality of life and awareness of patients diagnosed with childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma and other childhood cancers. Iain and Chantelle want to continue to encourage and inspire others to continue ‘Mason’s Fight’ by raising proceeds to research institutions and other programs that focus on newly developed treatment techniques, specifically for Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma.
The inspiration for Mason’s PowerPoles came during the time Mason’s disease became terminal. This is when Iain and Chantelle decided it was time to bring their son home for palliative care. In doing this, they were required to bring extensive medical equipment home, which Mason was not fond of.
The Power Poles are aimed at removing the hospital 'feeling' with feelings of positivity and a sense of pride. The Foundation has individually created each pole with vibrantly styled toppers that have fun colourful designs which children can associate with. Additionally, these are meant to make children proud of their battles. This initiative was created to make these children know just how brave and special they really are, and that their fight is really something to be proud of.
Written by Victoria Pittao, WRH Co-op Student.
|