A Red Deer family is honouring their late son with a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House, the organization that supported them during his cancer treatment.
In 2018, Nicolas Henkel was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at just 16 months old. He passed away at age four after his family — parents Jamelle and Chad, and siblings Jorie and Gavin — spent 518 nights at the Calgary Ronald McDonald House.
“My parents went there literally with the clothes on their back and my brother’s diaper bag; we had no idea we would be in the hospital for that long while he had cancer,” said Jorie Bloomer, Nicolas’s sister.
She recalls summer visits with her brother Gavin, field trips with other children, and holiday celebrations that brought families together.
“The most magical Christmases I think we had were at the Ronald McDonald House because they just decorated the whole place so nicely and people donate gifts so everyone in the family gets a gift, especially when parents are struggling,” she said.
To mark what would have been Nicolas’s ninth birthday on Nov. 17, Bloomer and her mother, Jamelle, are hosting a silent auction fundraiser on Nov. 8 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Canadian Brewhouse in Red Deer.
The goal is to raise $7,770 — the equivalent of $15 a night for the 518 nights the family stayed at RMH.
Auction items so far include gift certificates and a hunting portrait, with more donations welcome.
Tickets, donations and auction contributions can be arranged by emailing Jorie at jorbloom@gmail.com.
Donations can also be made directly through Ronald McDonald House Charities.
** Gallery photos from the fundraiser page.
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