A young family from Ladner, along with 75 of their family members and friends, gave back at a Canadian Blood Services donor clinic at the Ladner Community Centre Wednesday.
The outpouring of support was a way of saying thanks following a serious medical emergency the family experienced this summer.
Carly Walsh and her husband Ryan knew giving blood was important, but the couple truly didn’t realize how important it was until its two-year-old son Smyth desperately needed it.
Smyth was rushed to hospital in August where he was diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a blood clotting disease caused by an E. coli infection. Smyth’s treatment required that he and his mom spend 15 days at BC Children’s Hospital. Smyth was on dialysis and had two surgeries, one to put in his catheter and one to take it out.
As part of his treatment, he received three blood transfusions and a platelet transfusion.
Carly said she had given blood in the past, but after the health scare, they knew they had to do more.
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