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As bottle drive grows, local family with hospitalized child feels outpouring of support (5 photos)

They had to follow their newborn daughter to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario after she was born this past August with a congenital heart defect

When Taylor Gervais and Alan Caron welcomed their daughter, Payton Caron, into the world on Aug. 18, 2017 at Timmins and District Hospital, they had no idea they were about to embark on the most challenging and terrifying journey of their lives.

“Our lives changed in an instant and we had to drop everything and follow our newborn to CHEO,” Gervais says. “For the first five weeks of being in Ottawa, we had to be away from our two-year-old Amélie, which proved to be extremely difficult on her and us.”

Payton was born with a congenital heart defect called double aortic arch and a defect of the trachea that rendered Payton unable to breath normally. Payton was intubated and rushed to Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa where, at 12 days old, she underwent surgery to fix the double aortic arch.

Payton later underwent another surgery to have a gastronomy tube inserted so she could receive breast milk and other nutrition via a pump.

The months they’ve spent in Ottawa haven’t been easy on the family financially.

“For the first five weeks we were on a waiting list for the Ronald McDonald House,” Gervais says. “The cost of the hotel, food and travel were not in our plans, not to mention that we still have our regular bills from home. We weren't eligible to receive any subsidies [and] we weren’t expecting to be gone for so long.”

Back in Timmins, family friends Michel Lavigne and Sara Lamothe wanted to do something to help alleviate the strain on Payton’s family.

“The financial stress that would arise in such a situation can be overwhelming when you take into account the lost wages, cost of living, travel, food, accommodation, medical equipment, ect.,” Lavigne says. “We wanted to help our friends.”

Lamothe and Lavigne have organized several fundraisers for Payton’s family since August, and estimate they have raised $3,800 to date.

Now, they are in the middle of another fundraiser, a bottle drive timed for after the holiday season when community members likely have plenty of empty bottles lying around.

Needing a place to store the donations, Lavigne and Lamothe borrowed a trailer from Pro-Pipe Construction in Timmins where Lamothe’s father, Yves Lamothe, works. When asked why he decided to participate in the fundraiser, Yves Lamothe revealed that his daughter Sara, now 24, spent about three months at CHEO when she was born prematurely.

“The doctors at that hospital saved my life and I am so happy they are doing the same for my best friend’s baby,” Lamothe says. “Fundraising for friends and family 24 years ago was not very common. My parents did it all on their own.”

Lavigne and Lamothe have already filled half of the trailer with empty bottles, and have even more boxes and bags on the ground nearby waiting to be loaded. Lavigne isn’t sure how many bottles they’ve collected so far.

“I've lost count. The support has been incredible and I can't thank our generous community enough for all they've given,” Lavigne says.

Lavigne and Lamothe will be collecting donations until Jan. 7. They will pick-up beer bottles, beer cans, liquor bottles, wine boxes, and wine bottles, as well as cash or check donations from any community members who wish to donate. Checks can be made out to Alan Caron.

Lavigne’s employer, Eastview RV, has offered to match donations dollar for dollar up to $250.

“To see how much effort our employee has committed shows a lot of heart,” General Manager Paul Lavoie says. “If we all help a little it becomes a lot.”

The Grade 12 graduating class at Roland Michener Secondary School, which held a bottle drive on Jan. 2, 2018, will be donating the funds they raised to Payton’s cause.

Student Lisa Dampier, who organized the fundraiser with classmate Cassidy Curley-Lalonde, says the money was initially slated to help the students pay for graduation activities this June, but when they heard about Payton, the class voted to redirect the funds.

“Before we started the drive, I explained the situation about the Caron family [to my class] and asked if it would be okay if we just donated to the family instead and they all agreed,” Dampier says.

Dampier and Curley-Lalonde have yet to calculate the value of the empties collected, but Dampier says they collected 1,662 bottles and 1,639 cans. All the proceeds will go to Payton’s cause.

Gervais and Caron say they feel overwhelmed, but amazed, by all the support.

“Our wonderful friends and family have helped us tremendously,” Gervais says. “Without their continued support and for the wonderful people at Ronald McDonald house, I don’t know where we would be. I cannot explain the gratitude that I feel for all the people that have contributed to our family.”

Payton, meanwhile, is improving, her parents say. As of Oct. 30, she is no longer intubated and uses a CPAC machine to help regulate her breathing.

In order to bring their baby home, Payton’s parents need to buy the medical supplies and machines Payton needs to heal and thrive.

“She will require medical equipment and supplies,” Gervais says. “This upcoming fundraiser will help to pay for this equipment and these supplies that are necessary to bring our heart warrior home.”

If you need to reach the bottle drive organizers, they can be contacted at 403-707-5699