A Wallaceburg woman is rallying the community in order to make a local girls birthday extra special.
Krystal Gyuricza is gathering birthday cards for Hayden Foulon, who is battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Hayden, who just spent Christmas in the hospital, will be celebrating her 5th birthday in early March.
Krystal said she hadn’t heard about Hayden’s story until she read an article in the Sydenham Current about Emma VanRuymbeke and Sophia Burgess, two Port Lambton girls who donated their own birthday gifts to Hayden last month.
“Two little girls donated all their birthday gifts to Hayden and all the kids that were on the floor of the hospital,” Krystal said.
“I figured if these two girls can donate their birthday gifts, then why couldn’t the whole town of Wallaceburg donate a birthday card.”
Krystal added: “I thought, she’s only four years old and she’s had to deal with so much in her life already, why could we not make her feel special on her day.”
A team of about nine volunteers are helping Krystal with the initiative.
The cut-off date to submit a birthday is February 23, and Krystal said she is planning to surprise Hayden with the cards close to her birthday.
“I like to make people happy,” she said.
“I just wanted to do it to put a smile on her face, to make her forget that she is sick for one day. Just to know that everybody back here in Wallaceburg is thinking about her.”
Krystal said she is contacting all the schools to get involved and will be going around the local businesses in town to change their sign to “Happy Birthday, Hayden” for a day, so she can take photos of the signs and get them to Hayden as well. The exact date has yet to be narrowed down.
No Frills, McDonald’s, 99.1 and The Instant Print Shoppe in Wallaceburg have all agreed to be drop-off spots for the birthday cards.
For more details and to give a card, people can call 519-365-3506 or email krystalg26@hotmail.com or midget162@hotmail.com.
Absolutely love this idea. How nice to spread our Wallaceburg love.