Months after starting fundraising for the giveaway To treat her illness, a mother from Sainte-Julienne plans to give around a hundred gifts to children in her community between now and New Year's Day.
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“It allows me to be busy and meet people, but it also makes me happy to give back to those around me. I feel useful,” Stephanie Panneton admits with emotion.
Last August, Newspaper Talked to a 31-year-old woman who started collecting cans to buy a hyperbaric chamber. The technology, which delivers maximum levels of oxygen, is expected to help reduce symptoms from multiple sclerosis and trigeminal neuralgia, which can cause headaches and severe seizures.
Photo by Marianne Langlois
Today, the single mother's health is still fragile, but she still likes to use the holiday season to spread joy to those around her.
“We made Christmas baskets for new parents, we have lots of toys and we want to give away about a hundred gifts to families in need. […] “It's a way to thank people for their donations,” he adds.
Photo by Marianne Langlois
Soft toys, clothes, balloons, all kinds of things are included in the gifts, some of which were already given to children in Sainte-Justine last week.
Donations are still needed
Even as she gives back, Stephanie Panneton continues to raise Dons To help pay for his treatment. However, since he had emergency eye surgery in early December, he can no longer use the hyperbaric chamber he rented.
“I had a massive seizure that is now spreading to my eye and I had to have a small reconstruction of the inside of my eye. […] So, I can't use that machine now,” he laments.
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Panneton
The mother of little Luca, 5 years old, is trying every remedy to improve his health, but so far, nothing has worked. The next step would be Botox injections, which act on nerves to reduce pain.
“It's hard these days, and I always hope that a cure will work […] After all, life is worth living,” he concludes positively.
