A St. Albert boy is making sure kids stuck in the hospital have something fun to do.
Like many kids his age, 12-year-old Lincoln Chessie is a big fan of playing video games.
“He loves them probably more than anything else in this world. He comes home and it’s the first thing he does after school,” his mom Nichole McDonald said.
Chessie wants to share that love with others.
“I was just thinking of how much I love video games… so I decided to give gaming stations to the kids in the hospital,” Chessie explained.
Four gaming consoles are now bound for Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital and the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary — thanks to Chessie and Alberta Dreams.
Alberta Dreams is a charity that grants wishes for chronically and seriously ill children across the province.
When Chessie was born, he wasn’t well. He had trouble breathing and swallowing. He was in and out of the hospital for the first year and a half of his life trying to figure out what was wrong.
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“When he swallowed, everything would go into his lungs vs going down into his stomach and then, at the same time, he had bad acid reflux so it would come up and go into his lungs,” McDonald said.
Chessie underwent lots of tests including an MRI.
“It was determined and discovered that he has Chiari Malformation, so essentially his brain was sinking into the back of his neck,” McDonald explained.
Within a week of that discovery, Chessie had emergency brain surgery. He was two at the time.
“It gave him a quality of life. He went from being in the hospital five out of seven days a week to being home with us,” McDonald said.
Chessie and his family were eventually connected with Alberta Dreams.
He got three wishes and decided his last one would be to donate the gaming stations, so kids stuck in the hospital can enjoy them as much as he does.
“I think they are going to be happy so they don’t get bored,” Chessie said.
His family is beyond proud, but his mom noted it’s not unlike him to think of others.
“Something like this for the kids to have that escape — it’s nice,” McDonald said.
“We’re proud of him and all he’s done.”
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