Estevan’s Payton Sernick has received a special video message from halfway around the world, courtesy of Canadian hockey legend Hayley Wickenheiser.
Wickenheiser, who hails from Shaunavon, is currently in PyeongChang, South Korea, for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Friends alerted the five-time Olympian about Payton’s medical story after seeing one of Payton’s online video diaries for the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. The video included a photo of the Estevan girl in her hospital bed in Edmonton, reading Wickenheiser’s book, Gold Medal Diary: Inside the World’s Greatest Sports Event.
It inspired Wickenheiser, a five-time Olympic medallist, to send a heartfelt message of support to Payton, who is the foundation’s child ambassador for the Champions Program presented by Walmart Canada.
In the video, Wickenheiser points out several of the landmarks for the Games, including the ski jump, the international broadcasting centre and the athletes’ village.
“I hope you’re doing OK," Wickenheiser said in the video. “I heard you’re back in the hospital, so I wanted to send you some healing vibes from one of the most energetic places in the world, the Olympic Games, where there are lots of amazing athletes from all over the world, and of course our Canadian team that is bringing home lots of medals.”
(Video courtesy Jim Pattison Children's Hospital Foundation of Saskatchewan)
In particular, Wickenheiser said she hopes Canada can win a fifth straight Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey. Team Canada plays the U.S. in the gold medal game on Wednesday night.
Wickenheiser said she looks forward to seeing Payton back on the ice soon.
Payton was selected as the Saskatchewan ambassador for the Champions Program this past fall and began her yearlong term in January. The program honours remarkable children who have triumphed despite medical challenges. Each child acts as an ambassador for their Children’s Miracle Network hospital. Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation is the sole Saskatchewan member.
She relapsed in her cancer battle in late 2017 after believing she was cancer-free, following a 2 1/2-year battle with Stage 4 acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma. Payton and her family made the difficult decision to relocate from Estevan to Edmonton for the next six months to receive treatment at the children’s hospital in that city.
