'It’s a miracle': Amazing story of why local family does annual Childcan Polar Dip
Every year Jim Howe leads a team of co-workers from the Toyota plant into the frigid waters of Lake Erie.
Nicknamed ‘Quinton’s Little Fighters,’ the group raises thousands of dollars for the annual Childcan Polar Dip in Port Stanley, Ont.
“I take it for the family, but it’s really cold,” says Howe.
His wife Nicola and children cheer him on from the sidelines as they raise money for the childhood cancer organization.
“Quinton was diagnosed when he was four months old,” says Nicola, referring to her son.
Quinton Howe, 6, a child cancer survivor cheers on his dad who was participating in the annual Childcan Polar Dip in Port Stanley, Ont. on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Brent Lale/CTV London)
Six years later, the Howe family says they're lucky their son is alive. They can indirectly thank their oldest daughter Merryn for that.
“When I when I was pregnant with her, we decided to bank her stem cells just in case as insurance,” says Nicola.
“He (Quinton) was treated for the first two years and then he relapsed. So then we had to have a bone marrow transplant for him and his donor for the bone marrow transplant was Merryn. It was her stem cells from birth that we actually use for the transplant.”
The Howe’s call “the best insurance they’ve ever purchased.”
“It costs a lot of money to do that,” says Nicola.
“It costs a lot of money through the retrieval, a few thousand dollars, and it’s one of those insurance things that you just don't know you hope you'll never use them. But in our case, we had to and it's the best decision we ever made. It really is a miracle we chose to do that.”
The Howe Family participates in the Childcan Polar Dip to support an organization which helped them when their son Quinton (front left) had cancer in Port Stanley, Ont. on Sunday,March 5, 2022. (Brent Lale/CTV London)
So now they participate annually to help an organization that helped them while Quinton was sick.
So does the Wedlake Family who we introduced you to on Mar. 4, 2022
Six-year-old River Wedlake made his dip debut, although It was so cold, he only made it a few feet, before asking his mom to carry him the rest of the way.
By the time the dip had started Saturday, they had raised close to $70,000.
“All of that money goes directly to help the families with financial support, social assistance, emotional support and funding research,” says Kathleen Bernard executive director of Childcan.
“This makes a world of difference and we're so thrilled that it's such a success. This year we've got so many people coming back.”
After a year of virtual plunges due to the pandemic, they had more than 125 participants in this year’s Polar Dip.
The ‘Ice Ice Babies’ who raised over $20k for Childcan take the annual Polar Bear Dip in Port Stanley, Ont. on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Brent Lale/CTV London)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Milton increases to a Category 3 hurricane as Florida prepares for massive evacuations
Milton has strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane as Florida gears up for what could be its biggest evacuation in seven years. The major hurricane is moving over the Gulf of Mexico and headed toward population centers including Tampa and Orlando.
DEVELOPING Police in several cities to increase presence ahead of Oct. 7 anniversary
On the anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks in Israel, police departments in cities across Canada are increasing their presence in Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as at the locations of planned protests.
Israelis, scarred and battling on multiple fronts, mark a year since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack
Israelis were holding vigils and sombre ceremonies on Monday to mark a year since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, the deadliest in the country's history, which sparked the war in Gaza and scarred Israelis indelibly.
Madonna's brother, Christopher Ciccone, dead at 63
Christopher Ciccone, a multihyphenate artist, dancer, designer and younger brother of Madonna, has died. He was 63.
Beef jelly tongue products sold in London, Kitchener and southwestern Ontario recalled
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a recall due to possible Listeria contamination for more than a dozen brands of beef jelly tongue products sold in Ontario.
Timeline: What has happened in Canada since Oct. 7, 2023
The Oct. 7 attack by Hamas fighters on Israel last year, and the immediate Israeli retaliation that followed, sent shockwaves throughout the world that have shaken Canada culturally and politically.
Lawyers for Madeleine McCann suspect seek acquittal in his German trial on unrelated sexual offence charges
Lawyers for a man who is also under investigation in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann called on Monday for him to be acquitted in his trial on charges of unrelated sexual offences.
Rare cloud formations ripple the sky over Ottawa
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
Fighting in Sudan's North Darfur kills at least 13 children, UNICEF says
Fighting between the Sudanese military and its rival paramilitary in Sudan 's North Darfur killed at least 13 children and injured four others, UNICEF said.