Liam Finlayson, 12, who has a benign but inoperable brain tumour, took in a Red Deer Rebels game Saturday night, and got the surprise of a lifetime: a trip to Disney World. (Make-A-Wish)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

reprieve from the grind of treatment

Red Deer boy with brain tumour gets Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World in front of packed Rebels crowd

Dec 17, 2023 | 10:56 AM

A 12-year-old Red Deer boy who’s spent the last 18 months receiving treatment for a brain tumour had one of his dreams come true at Saturday night’s Red Deer Rebels game.

It was April 2022 when doctors discovered Liam Finlayson had a tumour on his brain stem, specifically a pilocytic astrocytoma. The tumour was later determined to be benign, but the youngster still ended up undergoing 70 chemotherapy treatments at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary.

During a break in play at the Rebels Dec. 16 game against Regina, Finlayson was introduced with his brother as being in the ‘best seats in the house,’ unknowing of what was to come. He was then surprised by Make-A-Wish staff with the gift of a trip to Disney World.

It’s been a whirlwind couple years for the Finlaysons — mom Danielle, dad Paul, Liam, and younger brother Carter, 9. Danielle was admitted to hospital in critical condition in October 2021, and doctors discovered she had colon cancer.

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Above video courtesy Make-A-Wish

“I was deemed cancer-free after they’d gotten it all with surgery, so we decided to celebrate by taking a trip to Phoenix, just to decompress,” Danielle shares with rdnewsNOW. “But two weeks before we were supposed to leave, we were rushed to Calgary Children’s after the eye doctor found, and a CT scan in Red Deer confirmed, pressure on Liam’s optic nerve. April 5, he had brain surgery and then he started treatment in May last year.”

What’s next for Liam, treatment-wise, is regular MRIs in Calgary for a course of seven years to ensure the tumour doesn’t grow. The tumour itself is inoperable because of its location.

“He’ll live with it for the rest of his life,” Danielle says. “The hope with the chemo was to shrink the tumour some or stop it from growing by killing the blood flow to it. After a year, there was no change to it.”

Needless to say, it’s been rough on Liam, losing some hair on his head, plus his eyebrows, and experiencing constant fatigue, nausea, and many missed days of school at Oriole Park, and now Central Middle.

But it is good news the tumour hasn’t grown.

“He hopes to regain some energy and stamina, and start running again. He’s asked to sign up for baseball this spring,” says Danielle. “He was in taekwondo but had to stop because the headaches were too intense. He just didn’t have the energy to do anything for the last year-and-a-half.”

Danielle says the Make-A-Wish trip signifies the end of a chapter for the Liam and his family, and of course the start of a new one, adding that he’ll finally have something to look forward to again.

A big Red Deer Rebels fan, Liam got to visit the dressing room and meet Rebels players on Saturday. The family travels to Disney World in January.

The Finlaysons, along with Make-A-Wish and Red Deer Rebels team members. (Make-A-Wish)

According to Jen Garden, Northern Alberta chapter director, Make-A-Wish Canada, there are 11 children in Red Deer awaiting their wish, with the cost of each around $10,000.

“A wish is important to a child’s medical journey, in that it inspires hope and joy in the darkest of times. Medical professionals have noted that it can be a turning point in a child’s medical journey for the better,” says Garden.

“More than 80 per cent of wish children go on to lead healthy, happy lives, and we’re really excited to be part of that journey. This incredible gift happens because of our donors,” says Garden.

“A wish is a reprieve from treatment. It’s a chance for siblings to play with each other outside of a hospital room for the first time in a long time. It’s a chance for parents to look at one another and go ‘You’re not just the other caregiver to this critically ill child, we’re in this together.’ It’s a chance for a family to make incredible, lasting memories they can hold onto when times get tough.”

The Northern Alberta chapter will fulfill 16 wishes this December, its busiest month of the year.

You can get involved by making a donation at makeawish.ca/donate, or by registering for a new event coming to Red Deer in September 2024.

That is the Heroes Challenge, which will feature teams of five, each required to raise at least $5,000. Registration opens soon. Follow Make-A-Wish on social media to stay up-to-date.