OUTLOOK - The spirit of giving is still very much alive in the town of Outlook and area weeks after Christmas has come and gone off the calendar.
Efforts are underway to give help to a very young girl and her family after it was learned that three-year old Thea Halonen was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma, a form of cancer. Before the holidays, Thea was set to have surgery in Saskatoon to remove her left adrenal gland and a tumour that was attached to it. Following the surgery, the young girl's journey of chemotherapy would begin, including many different treatments.
To help the family out, Chelsae Janhunen organized a GoFundMe online crowdfunding page in December, which as of this writing has raised an incredible $24,305 for the Outlook family.
As well, downtown Outlook store AG Foods announced on January 19 that they would be accepting monetary donations to the family, and matching donations to a maximum of $1000.
Thirdly, a social media auction page has been launched on Facebook, with the auction going live on January 26 and continuing until February 4. More than 30 items are up for grabs, and all proceeds of the event will go to the Halonen family. For more on the auction, you can check out the page at facebook.com/groups/1911177572420542 and click the 'Join Group' button.
Thea's mother Annalise shared an update on how the little girl has been doing.
"Rylan and I would like to thank everyone who has supported us and sent thoughts and prayers for our Thea. It is so appreciated!" she wrote on the fundraising page. "Thea’s surgery to remove her adrenal gland and tumour went really well. We are now starting the long road of chemotherapy treatment. We pray that her body responds well to the treatments!"
