The Weyburn Strait Jackettes won their last match of the season, and donated the proceeds of their 50-50 raffle to a local family dealing with medical issues with their infant son.
“It was the perfect end to a strong season. The team has worked very hard all season long. Commitment and hard work from all the skaters throughout the year showed in our strong defence and offence on the track, resulting in a win over Portage La Prairie’s Headstone Honeys 182-76,” said Krista Sandney of the Strait Jackettes.
“It was a fun game and we had a great turnout in the crowd with many new faces in the bleachers which is always a great thing,” she added.
The 50/50 draw proceeds were donated to Isaiah Evans and his family. More information about them can be found on his GOFundMe page https://www.gofundme.com/283wwfcs.
Isaiah Evans was born Feb. 1, 2016 to Janelle and Ken Evans. Due to his health problems Ken and Janelle have not been able to live at home with Isaiah. Not only does Isaiah have club feet but he also has a dislocated knee and dislocated hips. Isaiah was diagnosed with Arthrogryposis, which means he was born with joint contractures. This means some of his joints don’t move as much as normal and may even be stuck in one position. Often the muscles around these joints are thin, weak, stiff or missing.
Isaiah will need numerous castings and surgeries on his legs, feet, and hips. He will also need frequent visits to Wascana Rehabilitation Centre to work on improving his range of motion. Presently, Isaiah is staying at the Weyburn Hospital and Ken and Janelle are driving him to Regina General on a weekly basis. It is expected that these weekly trips will continue for years to come.
Another major issue is Isaiah was diagnosed with Pierre Robin, which means he has a small chin or jaw line and a normal size tongue. Isaiah was having difficulty breathing due to his tongue occluding his airway. Isaiah spent the month of March at the Edmonton Stollery where he underwent two surgeries; one to adhere his tongue to his lower lip and one to place a trach.
Isaiah and his family will be required to travel to Edmonton at least every three months to have the trach assessed by a pediatric ear nose throat surgeon. It is unknown at the time how long Isaiah will need the trach. The trach causes Isaiah to have issues swallowing so he cannot eat on his own. A G-tube was surgically placed on June 13 so food can be placed directly into his stomach. He has been using a nasal gastric tube. Another symptom of Pierre Robin that Isaiah has is a sub-mucosal cleft palate. This affects his soft palate. He will need another surgery around a year of age to deal with that.
The cost of fuel, hotels, plane trips to Edmonton, food, etc. continue to accumulate for the Evans family. To support the family, check out their GOFundMe page.
