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Loss of son spurs Yorkton couple to raise $1.5 million for cancer-fighting efforts
CBC's virtual road trip series Land of Living Stories explores the hidden gems across Saskatchewan. Reporter Janani Whitfield hit the road to Yorkton in search of inspiring stories of community spirit. This is the third story in a three-part series from that community.
In their darkest times as a family, the Ottenbreits have held on to a saying. It helped them through the loss of their child to cancer, and in their work to rally people in Yorkton, Sask., and beyond to join them in a fight against the insidious disease.
Greg Ottenbreit remembers its origin well. He was looking at his son Brayden, sedated on a gurney in a hospital and waiting for a scan. Brayden was three years old when he was diagnosed with ganglioneuroblastoma, the cancer that would later claim his young life.
"You always go to a dark place. In my mind, I had his funeral 10 times," Greg said, turning to look at his wife, Leone. "And that's when Leone says, 'You know what, no matter what happens, we've got to choose to be better, not bitter…. No matter what happens, we've gotta make a conscious effort. This isn't gonna tear us apart and our family apart.'"
At the time, they didn't know what lay ahead — the grief that comes from losing a child and the strain it can put on a family. They also didn't know his death would drive them to start an event that's still going strong and has raised more than $1.5 million for cancer research and support initiatives.
In 1998, family and friends shaved their heads in solidarity with Brayden, with the local Kinsman Club encouraging them, and raised $14,000. The event stuck, gaining even more support from the community after Brayden's death in February 2000.
"When you lose a child, it's like, what are you going to do with that? Myself, what I wanted to do was curl up in the corner," Leone said.
When she sees people benefiting from their fundraising efforts, she feels driven to continue.
"It actually puts a purpose to our pain."
Beyond the now-annual Brayden Ottenbreit Close Cuts for Cancer event, the couple has helped spur other fundraising events like pancake breakfasts and hot dog sales. Greg, a former Sask. Party MLA, even sported a mullet in the legislature to raise funds. All the money has gone to cancer-related causes, such as funding family stays at the Ronald McDonald house in Saskatoon, a medically-assisted camp for children who've been affected by cancer or renovations at the Saskatoon Cancer Patient Lodge.
It's all done in memory of a boy whose parents recall him as "a character," who brought smiles to the hospital staff by using a squeaky tricycle instead of a wheelchair to get around the hospital, or challenge volunteers at the cancer clinic to races.
Leone brings up her Facebook profile to show her son's picture, frozen in the year 1999, forever a child, kissing his mother's cheek. It remains her favourite photo of all time.
"[This] is him hugging me after we both shaved our heads. You can just sense the love."
Leone said she knows Brayden would be thrilled with the efforts he's inspired in his family and across the province, nearly three decades after his death.
"We're quite certain that he's still cheering us on from heaven going, 'Yeah, you guys just keep going. This is awesome.'"
It's the good memories that stay with them and gives them the strength to support other cancer patients and their families, Leone said.
