Christmas lights for a cause: Ajax family raises money for SickKids with huge light display

For the past four years, Adam and Tina Drew have been lighting up their Ajax, Ont. home to raise money for the SickKids Foundation.

The parents of three children, the Drews have plenty to be thankful for each holiday season — in part because of the hospital that saved two of their kids’ lives.

“Two of our three kids have used that hospital a lot,” Adam Drew said of SickKids in an interview with Yahoo Canada News. ”Two of them have had life-threatening illnesses. One of them went through cancer — he’s okay now — and the other one had two brain surgeries and two back surgeries.”

It took the Drews about 100 hours to set up more than 200,000 lights, all synchronized to light up to the beat of techno remixes of six holiday songs.

From 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. on weekdays — and until midnight on the weekends — their home entertains the neighbourhood with a lively light show. Impressed visitors then leave cash donations for SickKids.

“Our official house lighting is on December 1st of every year. We have pledge forms and people come and donate, whether it’s by cash or cheque. And then after December 1st, people ring our doorbell and come up and donate cash at the door,” Tina Drew told us.

“We have a big sign that says, ‘If you like our lights, ring doorbell.’”

People of all ages — Drew said that teenagers have driven to their home just to drop off cash in honour of a sibling or friend at the hospital — and all financial situations have stopped to thank the Drews with donations.

“We’ve seen people come up who can’t afford to make a donation, and they’re like, ‘We only have 5 bucks, is that okay?’” Drew said.”And we’re like, ‘Thanks, that’s wonderful.’”

So far, they’ve raised $2,565 of their $12,000 goal.

Supporters can also donate online here.

For the Drews, supporting SickKids is important.

When their son was 3 years old, he came down with an ear infection. After prescribed ear drops failed to work, and a six-month waiting list to see a specialist was too long for the increasingly worried parents — and after an American ear clinic assured them nothing was wrong — it was a connection to a doctor at SickKids that likely saved the little boy’s life.

A few days after returning from the clinic in the U.S., they received a call from SickKids:

“They said, ‘Normally we can’t really do this ‘cause there’s a waiting list, but we have a cancellation if you want to bring him in tomorrow. Not sure if we can really help you because we’re not ear specialists, but we’re happy to look at him,” Adam recalled.

At the boy’s appointment, the doctor called in an ear doctor who looked at him immediately. Concerned about a polyp in the ear, he ordered surgery. About a week and half later, the preschooler was diagnosed with cancer and underwent about six months of chemotherapy.

He is now healthy and doing well.

Shortly after the youngster finished chemo, his big sister, 14 at the time, visited SickKids for a routine eye exam.

“Found out that she had fluid on the brain and she had to go for surgery,” Adam said of the surprise hydrocephalus diagnosis.

About a year later, the fluid returned and she underwent the same surgery.

“And that one worked. It worked really well. And today’s she’s had no side effects. She’s actually doing really good,” Adam said, adding that his daughter is now studying software engineering at the University of Guelph.

The Drew’s eldest daughter also underwent two back surgeries at SickKids — one to correct a form of scoliosis, and another to treat an infection from the first surgery.

“That’s why we do this,” Adam said of the Christmas-lights fundraiser, calling SickKids staff “special people.”

Two other Toronto-area families are also raising money for the Hospital for Sick Children this holiday season.

Amatore and Pasqua De Sario have been decorating their North York home for SickKids for 15 years, raising more than $115,000 for the hospital so far. They started their annual tradition in support of their daughter, who was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and treated at SickKids.

Stouffvile’s Debaissi family didn’t just go all out with their holidays lights this year, they also created a festival complete with parade floats and live music. Their son was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2012 and treated at the hospital. Their annual Christmas fundraiser is the family’s way to giving back to the compassionate doctors, nurses and staff who cared for their son during that scary time.