Tragedy leads to second chance at life, two families forever bonded
Tragedy leads to second chance at life, two families forever bonded
Two-year-old Ella Crosset loved to dance and celebrate Halloween. Her smile lit up a room, and brought joy to so many people.
But Ella passed away after a pool accident, and the pain of that loss was incomprehensible.
“Now I have to I have to plan for her a funeral instead of a birthday party, and that was it was really a lot,” Kristin Luckins recalled of the moments following her daughter’s death.
Through tragedy however, comes hope.
At the same time that Luckins was processing the loss of her daughter, Jamie Wallis, a woman she had known since they went to high school in Sarnia, Ont. had a son with a genetic disease that was progressively getting worse.
“The first year-and-a-half of his life was rough,” explained Wallis. “After that, we went through the process of going to SickKids and getting our diagnosis, getting the genetic testing, figuring out what was wrong with him, and what that meant for his path forward. Ultimately, he ended up going septic in February of 2019 and he lost his entire small intestine and part of his large intestine as well.”
Young Owen had been on the transplant list for over three years, and Luckins knew this — and through her grief she took action.
“For some reason I went up to the Trillium lady and I just said, ‘Can you look up on Wallis?’ I know he's on the list. And if you can see if maybe Ella is a match for him, then maybe something good can come out of it,” she said.
At this point Owen was having nutrients delivered directly into his heart through a central line, tubes running in and out of his body to sustain his life. Ella donated four of her organs to Owen, who now has a chance at a much improved life.
“We're just six months now post-transplant, and he's about to have his ostomy reversed and he's about to have his central line taken out. Those are two very, very, very big milestones in the transplant life, in his life, like this six-year-old that has been sick his whole life is about to be put back together,” Wallis said.
“I can see him grow,” Luckins said through tears. “And I know that that my baby girl did that. So that helps me a lot to get through her not being here anymore.”
On what would have been Ella’s third birthday, Kristin held a celebration of life. Owen was released from hospital in Toronto the same day, and they were able to make the drive to Sarnia in time to be there.
“That meant a lot because part of Ella was able to be there,” Luckins recounted of the Oct. 21 meeting. “So we have a really good relationship, and I'm so grateful for that because I think that's part of what I need to get through. This is now I know and I can see him thrive.”
Meanwhile Wallis said the two shared so many interests.
“They are kindred spirits. They are, they were always bonded. We all were always bonded. For Owen to be able to be there and for them to see, you know, the impact she had directly on this little boy who's running around causing mayhem, running on the stage and playing with the cotton candy machine and like he's got part of her,” she said.
Ella also donated her heart to another boy, and one person can change the life of up to eight people through organ donation, and countless more through tissue donation.
Bluewater Health was just awarded two honours in how they approach potential donors and had a 100 per cent rate last year.
Dr. Glenna Cuccarolo from Bluewater Health pleads with people to sign up for organ donation.
“It ensures that your wishes are taken into account at that time. And it also makes it a much more peaceful decision because the family knows that they're speaking your own personal wishes rather than trying to guess them at the time of a tragedy,” she said.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap.
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
In an effort to keep the foreign interference story at the forefront, and to do an apparent endrun around the Liberal filibuster blocking one study from going ahead, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is forcing MPs to debate and then vote on a motion instructing an opposition-dominated House committee to strike its own review.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet with Vladimir Putin in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine.
Even at one of the tallest natural peaks on Earth, humans have left their mark in a trail of bacteria as researchers have found germs from coughing and sneezing that have been potentially preserved for centuries on Mount Everest.
A community is in mourning after a 10-year-old girl was killed earlier this week when flames tore through her family’s camping trailer southeast of Brantford.
St. Patrick's day street parties in Waterloo, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau making an announcement in Guelph, and a woman charged with defrauding doulas round out the most-read stories of the week.
The investigation into a house explosion in Windsor will continue Monday. The process wrapped up for the day around 7 p.m. at the scene on Aspen Lane in east Windsor.
The first day of spring in Windsor-Essex will be a beautiful one. The daytime high is forecast to be 9 C, nearly 2 C warmer than the average high for this time of year.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
The Rideau McDonald's Farewell March brought people from across the city, some dressed in costumes, who wanted to say goodbye to a part of what they say makes Ottawa Ottawa.
If you are yearning to walk the trails around Mud Lake in the Britannia Conservation Area, be aware there are wild turkeys looking for mates. A gang of three have been chasing and pecking at visitors to the nature trail for weeks.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
March 20 marks the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, and, after a long, grey winter, Torontonians can soon look forward to warmer temperatures and sunnier days.
An Ontario woman has launched a lawsuit seeking $500,000 from Tim Hortons after she suffered major burns from an alleged ‘superheated’ tea. The company has denied all allegations and said she was ‘the author of her own misfortune.'
Officials are still looking for victims after a fire ripped through a building in Old Montreal last week, killing at least one person. At a press conference Monday morning, spokespersons for the Montreal police and Montreal fire department said six people are still missing. They come from various locations in Quebec, Ontario and the U.S.
Two families were displaced early Monday morning after a fire ripped through a building in Montreal's Quartier Latin. No one was injured, according to the Montreal fire department (SIM).
The University of Prince Edward Island Faculty Association says its staff has gone on strike after what it says are failed attempts to enter additional negotiations with the university's administration.
The student union president at Cape Breton University said food insecurity has become a concern for many students and the on-campus food bank cannot keep up with demand.
The University of Prince Edward Island coach is defending the team’s actions, after the University of Alberta team skated off the ice without handshakes at the U Sports Men’s Hockey National Championship in Charlottetown.
One person has been confirmed dead and six people remain missing as police continue to search for victims after a fire swept through a building in Old Montreal on Thursday.
The Town of Strathmore and Siksika Nation hosted the first Lead By Example Powwow this weekend in honour of a young Indigenous man who was shot to death four years ago.
Autopsies confirmed gunshot wounds as the cause of death for two constables responding to a domestic dispute Thursday, the Edmonton Police Service says.
Autopsies confirmed gunshot wounds as the cause of death for two constables responding to a domestic dispute Thursday, the Edmonton Police Service says.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.
Vancouver firefighters were called to the Downtown Eastside Sunday evening after a fire destroyed multiple tents in an encampment and spread to a building near Main and East Hastings streets.
An international student was swarmed and beaten by a group of people who ripped off his turban and dragged him across the sidewalk by his hair in Kelowna, B.C., Friday evening, according to a local politician.
