Kayla Holodryga

How incredible would it be to be able to make a dream come true for a child that could really use an extra boost of hope?

I'm participating in Deadlifts for Dreams 4 to bring dreams to life for kids in Manitoba battling life-threatening illnesses, and I need your help to make a dream come true!

On August 27th, 2022, deadlifters in Manitoba (including me!) are coming together for a fun-filled competition with one goal in mind: bringing dreams to life. Every dollar we are able to raise stays right here in Manitoba to help kids in our province. 

More specifically, every donation directly supports the dream come true of an incredibly brave little boy in our community: Ethan. Ethan's family describes him as a smart, funny, sweet and energetic 4-year-old who loves animals and dinosaurs. Ethan is dreaming of the ultimate dinosaur experience - and I'm asking for your help to make it possible!

Link: https://www.thedreamfactory.ca/blog/meet-ethan

To be able to give the gift of a dream to a child in need is a truly wonderful thing. I would be so appreciative to have your support so that, together, we can bring Ethan's dream to life right here in our community.

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Letter from a Dream Family: Meet Ethan

Ethan is a smart, funny, sweet and energetic four year old. He loves dinosaurs, cars, trucks, trains, and superheroes. He loves to read, especially about bugs, dinosaurs and animals, and he likes to bake with us, especially in the wintertime when it's pretty cold out. He’s recently started soccer, and he's really excited about starting swimming this summer as well.

We found out that Ethan had cystic fibrosis through newborn screening - when he was just two and a half weeks old. After just a few days with our son, we were scheduling meetings and tests, learning about the markers for cystic fibrosis, and understanding what this would mean for Ethan as he grew up.

For our family, it’s meant physiotherapy twice a day, specialized multivitamins and enzymes to help him grow at proper rate, and most recently Ethan has started using a nebulizer to help loosen the mucus in his lungs. The disease makes Ethan a lot more prone to getting sick, and even a simple cold can take him weeks to recover from.

All of these things just mean that we have to stay very aware of how Ethan is feeling. If he’s coughing or sneezing, we’re probably going to pay a little bit closer attention than the average parent might have to. We’re thinking about “Okay, is this going to be something that leads to antibiotics? A trip to the hospital?” Those questions are always there in the back of your mind.

In spite of all of that, Ethan loves to stay active. He’s always running, laughing and jumping around - all of which are activities that help clear the mucus from his lungs, keep him healthy, but also give him an opportunity to have fun like any other kid.

When asked about his biggest Dream come true, Ethan has told us more than once that he wants to visit the “Dino Wilds” - which anyone with kids will know is a fictional dinosaur world from Paw Patrol. So I’m going to guess that his Dream come true will definitely have something to do with dinosaurs and animals - that would definitely make his day.

To everyone that is working this summer to help make Ethan’s Dream come true, thank you. Ethan is such a special little boy, and the fact that so many people are coming together to help his dream come to life means the world to our family.