When you lose somebody you love so much, it’s hard not to lose all hope especially around the holidays.
For one Saskatchewan family, the loss of their son has meant changing the spirit of Christmas and giving back to other families during the most difficult time of their lives.
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On Monday, the Sanford family delivered hundreds of gifts to Ronald McDonald House Saskatchewan. It’s a destination nearly five hours away from their home in Frontier, Sask., and the second delivery for the family in two years.
Only this time, the family had a little help from 27 different Innovation Credit Unions throughout the province who served as drop-off spots for the gifts.
“That Mack Truck is something else! I wasn’t sure what a Mack Truck was until today so it was quite crazy,” Marion Sanford said.
“Last year, it was just me and Jason’s truck, we filled some tool boxes in the back of this truck but it wasn’t to the extent of this year.”
It’s a new Christmas tradition for the Sanford family and the journey it took to get here is one they never wanted to take.
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In the spring of 2015, their six-year-old son, Blaine, died in an ATV crash and didn’t know if his younger brother Rhett would make it.
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For months, they stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Saskatoon as the family attempted to pick up the pieces.
“This was our home away from home and this is what keeps the glue still sticking as a family.”
Rhett has since recovered from the neck injury he sustained and has his old spunk back, according to his mother.
As for Blaine, his mom said he was the type of little boy that if you dropped a pencil he would be the first one to help you pick it up.
“There wasn’t anyone in the world he couldn’t make friends with, everybody at the rink knew him and he was loved,” Sanford said.
“He was old behind his years and he just made a big difference and I think part of the reason I do this is I want my son to be proud of me.”
Officials with the Ronald McDonald House said this is the first time this has ever happened and that the donation couldn’t have come at a better time, as they looked for ways to replenish their toy collection.
“People are still thinking about the house, they’re still thinking about the families within the house, they’re thinking about families at Christmas time,” Tammy Forrester, executive director of Ronald McDonald House Saskatchewan, said.
“It was sort of this sense of relief, I guess, that we didn’t have to go and spend operational dollars which we can put towards other programs so it’s a pretty significant gift for us.”
The donation brought tears to Forrester’s eyes as she addressed Blaine’s mom in the front entrance of the home after all the deliveries were brought in.
“She phenomenal, her family is phenomenal, her community is just phenomenal,” Forrester said.
“We need lots of people like her out there.”
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