Outpouring of support for Sask. 5-year-old with rare kidney disease
A pre-schooler from Warman has gotten some unlikely support as he battles a rare kidney disease, and the help started with a small idea in the community and spread all the way down to Regina.
Thanks to generous donors, his journey to get a kidney transplant out of province will be a bit easier.
Five-year-old Logan McCorkell was given a life-threatening diagnosis when he was only two. It’s called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, and it only happens to seven people in a million.
“It’s a really rare kidney disease and there’s no cure, and we were told when he was diagnosed, we just had to wait for failure and keep him comfortable,” Sarah McCorkell, Logan’s mom told CTV News.
He spent most of his toddler life in hospital. His kidney did end up failing in 2022 — a kidney transplant imminent.
“Within one week his kidney went from 70 per cent function to done, and it quit,” she says.
It was then that a small seed was planted at his Warman daycare — staff wanting to do something to help, so they started a Go Fund Me page.
“It snowballed in a good way obviously, we didn’t realize what kind of support we would get but we ended up with so many people reaching out,” Shelby Smith, owner and teacher at Happy Tots Preschool told CTV News.
Shelby Smith, owner and teacher at Happy Tots Preschool. (Carla Shynkaruk / CTV News)
That seed started to grow with Warman and surrounding area pitching in.
A local Grade 7 class in Warman that partners with the preschool also jumped on board, collecting loonies and something to cheer him up during his many hospital visits.
“They did this this amazing basket for him, with toys and books for him for when he’s in the hospital,” McCorkell said.
The support for Logan gained momentum. It was at a cheerleading competition on the weekend where it took another unexpected twist.
Participants from the Regina Rebels group used classrooms to get ready and one of those classrooms belonged to the Grade 7 class that was raising money for Logan. A note for students on their whiteboard got noticed.
“They had some information about a loonies for Logan fundraiser they were planning — one of our athletes anonymously left $5 with a note saying for Logan,” said Eric Bestvater, owner of Regina Rebels Cheerleading Athletics.
That classroom fundraiser had nothing to do with the cheer competition, but the seed of generosity kept spreading. The grade seven teacher Victoria Dyck contacted Bestvater to thank the athlete for the random act of kindness.
“It was really touching and inspiring, so my first instinct was to do more,” Bestvater said.
He told families from his Regina group he would match all donations they made to Logan’s Go Fund Me page. From that group alone, along with Bestvater’s matching contribution, it’s now at $2,000 and counting.
Both Logan‘s parents will be taking time off from work for three months while Logan is getting a kidney transplant in Edmonton. They are expecting word on a date any time now, the total of $11,000 raised with all fundraising efforts so far will go to help with family expenses during that time.
“I am overwhelmed, but super grateful. I have cried many times out of happiness and honestly, we cannot thank everyone enough for this," McCorkell said.
Logan has plans to be a firefighter or doctor when he grows up. He wants to help people; likely unaware of the fact that he will be paying it forward.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.