COBDEN — A successful fundraiser was held at the Cobden Legion Saturday night to raise money to help with the expenses for two-year-old Dallis Delarge and her family.
Dallis was diagnosed in Calgary in October 2014 with retinoblastoma, a rapidly developing cancer that develops from the immature cells of a retina, the light-detecting part of the eye. This is the most common malignant tumor of the eye in children.
The family, Dallis and her parents Jason and Chantal (Wren), was flown to Toronto shortly afterwards so Dallis could begin chemotherapy treatment at Sick Kids. The family has called Ronald McDonald House near the hospital their home for the past three months.
While they live in Airdrie, Alberta, Jason grew up in Cobden and Chantal in Douglas. They moved to Airdrie where Jason has a job.
Ron Laronde, owner of Sears in Cobden, organized the Saturday night fundraiser. While the weather did keep many people away, many people still came, he said.
“The weather threw us off our numbers,” he said. “But people still came. We had a good crowd.
“People are still dropping stuff off at the store.”
The fundraiser included games of pong, a pool game, raffle tickets and silent and live auctions, he said. As of Tuesday, he wasn’t sure how much money had been raised, as the treasurer was still tallying it up.
Mr. Laronde met Dallis when she came for a visit just before Christmas. He recalled her running around the store.
Laughing, he said, “She was running around the store at 100 miles per hour. She’s full of energy.”
Mr. Laronde said the community came through for this little girl, which is no surprise to him.
“Whenever there’s a fundraiser, even if people can’t get to it, they find a way of donating,” he said.
When Dallis and her parents return home, they’ll have another member of the family with them. Cameron was born on Nov. 21, 2014 weighing in at 8 lbs. 3 ounces. On Christmas Day, Dallis celebrated her second birthday.
On the facebook page started by Mr. Delarge to keep family and friends informed of what’s happening with Dallis, he wrote on Dec. 8, “The first battle in Dallis’ battle has been won.”
The next day he wrote, “Cameron is genetically free of the RB cell mutation.”
On Tuesday, her mom said Dallis was going for an eye exam Wednesday morning and the family was returning to their Airdrie home for at least five weeks.
“We hope in the time we are sent home until we come back the tumours do not regress,” Ms. Delarge said.
Dallis will have appointments at Sick Kids once a month, and this will continue for years, she added.
On the facebook page Wednesday, Mr. Delarge wrote: Dr. Heon announced that the largest tumor in Dallis’ left eye has regressed up to 75% from chemotherapy treatments. However, the small tumors haven’t been responding nearly as well. We will go hone for 4 weeks, then return for more laser therapy.
Speaking about the fundraiser, Ms. Delarge said, “We were deeply touched by the support we received for little Dallis. We have true friends in the valley and are grateful for their kind and generous donations.”
