The Brantford community came out Saturday afternoon to support Riley’s Rally for Sick Kids at the Branlyn Community Centre.
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Hosted by nine-year-old Riley Ferguson-Law and her Brantford family, the two-hour indoor community fun fair was a fundraiser for SickKids Hospital in Toronto.
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“This is our first fun fair-fundraiser,” said Riley’s father Bryan Law. “When she was in the hospital, our friends did a fundraiser for us, generating money to help us keep going. They called it the Rally for Riley, so we flipped the script here.
“Last year she did a lemonade stand, so all the money she saved up from that lemonade stand went toward helping fund this event.”
Riley had spent nearly two months at SickKids Hospital from January-February 2023. On Sept. 15, they received ‘the call’ – a heart was available for a transplant.
“We left that day and the next day she received the heart,” said Law. “It was incredible. Ten days before her ninth birthday.”
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She spent six weeks at Ronald McDonald House in Toronto recovering, returned to her Brantford home just before Halloween and was soon welcomed back at her school.
“The emotions that you feel… I just knew that I wasn’t leaving her side. I wish we had more answers, but at the same time I’m just happy she’s OK.
“We had reached out to SickKids Foundation to talk about setting up a fundraiser to give back. Riley was grateful for what they had done for her – they gave her back her childhood – and she wanted to give back to the hospital. They saved her life.”
Saturday’s fun fair included entertainer Doug the Great (Doug Hunt) on stilts, Hamilton Tiger-Cats cheerleaders, Brent the balloon twister, an inflatable obstacle course, a mini dunk tank and other games and activities staffed by family and friends.
“I’m so proud of her,” Law said. “For everything she’s gone through, she still focuses on doing more for others, focuses on the next (sick) kids. I’m just so proud of her because she has seen there was more than just her suffering in the hospital and she wants to give back. She knows how amazing they are (at SickKids) – every staff member in there.”
Law said Riley had not yet decided whether funds raised would go directly to the cardiac floor or the SickKids Hospital, asking them to put it where it’s most needed.
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