Grateful for the Path…Fully Completely

WCK Board Member Mina Bullard describes how her favourite band forged a connection to childhood cancer that would change her life.

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Back in 1998, I was watching a TV special when I saw something that ultimately set me on a life path which I am so, so grateful for. My favourite band, The Tragically Hip, had done a series of concerts in support of Camp Trillium, a pediatric oncology camp in Ontario. I’d never heard of a pediatric oncology camp before, but if it was something that my favourite band was in support of, then I wanted to learn more.

In the summer of ‘99, thanks to what I’d learned from The Tragically Hip, I found myself volunteering at a week-long pediatric oncology camp here in B.C. To say it changed my life is an understatement. It was a week full of extremes: extreme fun, laughs, and wonderful adventures…but also extreme emotions, tears, and often feelings of helplessness.

 

I absolutely fell in love with the kids and learned what true resilience, caring, and acceptance was. I learned so much from watching the camp nurses interact with the kids; the connections I saw were beautiful and heart-filling. I was in awe of the kids, and I was inspired by the nurses. I wanted to be like them.

Mina meeting Gord Downie from The Tragically Hip, around 1999.
Mina meeting Gord Downie from The Tragically Hip, back in 1999.

Immediately upon getting home from camp, I enrolled in nursing school with a dream to be a pediatric oncology nurse. Much to my dismay, there was a hiring freeze at BC Children’s Hospital when I graduated. I started working at Vancouver General Hospital, but my passion for the kids never went away. I continued to volunteer at the oncology camp for 15 summers. As amazing as those weeks at camp were, I always felt so sad as I knew one week of camp just wasn’t enough for the kids and their families. They deserved so much more.

In 2017, after a “cold text” to Colin Worth, an old camp buddy I hadn’t seen in a few years, we met up for a coffee and realized that we both had the same dream to just do more for kids with cancer and their families. At the end of our hours-long coffee, Colin asked me to be one of the first board members of West Coast Kids Cancer Foundation. That day changed my life.

Five years later, and I could not be prouder of who we are and what we are doing to support B.C. kids and their families as they navigate their cancer journeys. I wish more than anything that a foundation like WCK wasn’t even necessary. But until we find a way to eradicate childhood cancer, I will always strive to do more for the community we are serving.

I am so grateful to the families for sharing their stories and letting us walk the path with them. I am grateful to the kids for showing me what true strength, resilience, and kindness is. I am grateful to The Tragically Hip for their humble support of so many incredible organizations and causes; and so grateful that their support of Camp Trillium led me to my path. I am forever grateful to Colin Worth for helping me turn a dream into a reality. And I am grateful to my WCK family for proving that, together, we can achieve so much more

Jill Leddy

Hey! I'm Jill.

Want to learn more about volunteering with us? Reach out to Volunteer Coordinator Jill Leddy at jill.leddy[at]wckfoundation.ca.