Staying Home, Staying Strong
For the well-being of our community, we’ve temporarily closed up the Made Here shop. Our lovely staff are staying home, and we hope you are, too.
Made Here is sending a little extra love to our makers and The Dream Factory families during this time. We’re constantly inspired by the strength Dream Kids show during incredibly difficult times and how this strength rubs off on their family and community—allowing them to conquer challenges together.
We’d like to introduce you to one amazing kiddo whose light and laughter proves to be on par with superhuman strength.
Meet Ethan
At 10 months old, Ethan was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with MLL gene rearrangement. Within 24 hours of his diagnosis, he was in the operating room having a central line placed. His family was immediately taken by shock, confusion, and fear of the unknown. Ethan, on the other hand, despite being operated on and swarmed by strangers, remained his sweet, happy self.
Ethan spent the next year and a half in and out of hospital. This meant months of medications, blood transfusions, lumbar punctures, and biopsies. Despite the challenges, Ethan continued to grow and inspire his parents. He started to walk, he learned new words, he laughed all day, and slept through the night.
Ethan relapsed in February 2019 and received a bone marrow transplant in June. Still, he danced, laughed, and played throughout it all. His favourite thing to play with: his collection of Avengers. This team of heroes was by his side during every hospital stay.
Ethan was discharged from the hospital in late July and had his central line removed in February of this year. To celebrate Ethan’s tremendous strength, The Dream Factory will be sending him and his family to Disney to meet his favorite heroes!
Still Dreaming
Our friends at The Dream Factory are also practicing social distancing, but when it’s safe to do so, all travel related dreams will be fulfilled and Ethan will meet his heroes! In the meantime, we’re wishing him and his family health, happiness, and lots of action-figure-filled playtime.
Join The Dream Factory, Tuesdays at 1:00PM and Thursdays at 11:00AM, for Drop In Dream Parties—half an hour of fun featuring tons of special guests. Tune into ZOOM to enjoy a variety of at-home activities including story time, sing-a-longs, crafts, and show and tell. All are welcome. No need to RSVP, just drop in!
If you need any help getting set up, don't hesitate to contact Andrew (andrew@thedreamfactory.ca) or Karly (karly@thedreamfactory.ca) and they’ll help you join the party.