CLARENVILLE, N.L. — Christmas is an unimaginably difficult time of year to go through after losing a child. For Neda Hunt and her family, they wanted to do something to remember their son Darian after he passed away from cancer this past spring.
Neda told The Packet during Darian’s long stays in St. John’s and Toronto hospitals, he was immuno-compromised and was required to stay quarantined while undergoing treatment.
During his treatments, he had to undergo chemotherapy, was in need of blood donations and didn’t get a chance to recover between two different extended stays at hospital.
Aside from the physical hardships he experienced, there were many other quality-of-life things that made it difficult during treatment.
During these times, they were always in need of new, clean pyjamas.
Neda says while the Ronald McDonald House has amazing laundry facilities, she and her husband Troy didn’t want to leave their son.
“So we’d have five pairs of pyjamas and he’d go through that and then be in scrubs,” she explained. “When I’d go ask the hospital if they had any, they always had it for babies — because everyone thinks when children are sick, they’re small.”
Darian was tall for his age, 12 years old during first treatment and 14 after a relapse.
He often ended up wearing pyjamas so short they came up to his knees.
Neda also remembers fondly some of the pyjamas with comical print on the fabric and how it would brighten Darian’s mood during his incredibly difficult periods of treatment.
“He had a pair that had Santas snowboarding, and every fifth snowboard he’d be mooning so you could see his butt,” Neda smiles as she recalls. “He found that quite comical and mentioned to the nurses if they could see the mooning. Anything that puts a smile on their face … the pyjamas did that.”
For those reasons, she decided to collect pyjamas in his memory this Christmas. She also saw all the generous ways people helped, donated and contributed their time over the past few years. Beginning in October, she decided she wanted to “give back.”
She’s already seen a swell of further support from many different people from Newfoundland and Labrador and from British Columbia — where she is originally from — just from word of mouth.
Neda says a hockey team from Labrador sent her $108 to buy pyjamas, a local hockey fundraiser raised $1,100, along with so many others. She has over 100 pairs, starting with teen sizes and growing from there.
She plans to donate them to Janeway Children’s Hospital in St. John’s, G.B. Cross Memorial Hospital in Clarenville, and possibly send some to Halifax.
“It might even take two trips.”
They’re going to take some in for four 17 year olds in St. John’s undergoing treatment. Neda and Troy are also going to give each of their families $75 gift cards for gas, to help with their commuting bills.
Every one of the sets of PJs will have a “Hunt 11” logo sticker on them as well.
“Every year I’m going to try and do something in his memory,” she says. “I want this community to remember him.”
Twitter: @jejparsons
