Hockey community comes together for young Kitchener, Ont. boy fighting cancer

A young hockey player battling cancer is getting support form across the province. CTV’s Karis Mapp explains why.

A young hockey player has a lot of support behind him as he battles brain cancer.

Harrison Yoshy, a 9-year-old boy from Kitchener, Ont., was practicing with the Kitchener Jr. Rangers U10 AAA team around Christmastime when he fell.

“He continued practicing for the hour-and-a-half, no sign of any kind of symptoms,” his father Kody Yoshy, who is also a coach for the team, recalled.

“It wasn’t until later that night when we were coming home that he started being a little disoriented, started showing signs of what we presumed was a concussion.”

What followed was a series of CT scans, an MRI and an optometry exam at the University of Waterloo.

In February, the family learned Harrison had two tumors on his brain.

“Once the biopsy took place, then we found out within five days about his actual diagnosis: diffuse midline glioma,” Kody explained.

Diffuse midline glioma is a rare form of brain cancer that primarily begins in the brain or spinal cord. In Harrison’s case, it is aggressive.

He recently finished 30 days of radiation, and his parents said Harrison has taken the same brand of enthusiasm and tenacity he put forward on the ice into the treatment room.

“We wore a brave face, which as a parent, we struggle doing that,” Kody said while fighting back tears. “To see your kid do it, it’s pretty amazing.”

Sticking it to cancer

Harrison’s fight has left on impact on his immediate community of Waterloo Region, but his story is resonating throughout southwestern Ontario. Part of that awareness comes from a sticker campaign at McPhail’s Cycle & Sport in Uptown Waterloo.

Jordan Bonneville, the co-owner of the shop, has been friends with Kody since they played hockey together in high school.

“He had an idea of putting Harrison’s name on some Kitchener Rangers stickers and Waterloo Wolves stickers,” Bonneville said.

“From that point on, we started printing the stickers nonstop for weeks.”

Bonneville estimates somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 stickers have been printed so far. They’ve been sent to places like London, Windsor and Chatham.

“If you’ve been out at a rink, you’ve probably seen Harrison’s stickers on the back of a helmet or on a hockey stick. The Kitchener Rangers have them on their helmets. It’s been remarkable,” Kody said.

The hockey community steps up for Harrison

The Kitchener Rangers Ontario Hockey League team has also helped to buoy spirits. The Yoshy family was invited to do a puck drop before a game against the London Knights on Feb. 10.

“He looks up to those guys,” Kody said. “For him to feel included has truly brightened his day.”

In a social media post the team wrote, “The whole #OHLRangersand KW community is behind you, Harrison. Your strength, courage and love for the game inspire us. You are the definition of #BattleBuilt."

He even got a chance to meet some Toronto Maple Leafs players.

A GoFundMe campaign has also been set up to help Harrison.

As more people hear his story, they’ve found ways to lift his spirits.

“He gets mail now. Kids send him hockey cards and small tokens like that,” Kody said.

“The community at large has been unbelievable. The hockey community especially, they’ve truly wrapped their arms around us and lifted us up from our lowest points. I can’t thank people enough.”

With radiation complete, Harrison and his family are waiting to see what their options are for his next steps.

Kody said they’re hoping to be part of upcoming clinical trials.

“We will continue to go to McMaster Children’s Hospital, and he has follow-up bloodwork to see how he’s recovering. Obviously, he has to get to a point of recovery before they can put you in a new stream.”

But in the meantime, when Harrison is feeling up to it, he’s been reuniting with his team on the ice to take part in practices.

“You hear people say, ‘You never know when the last time you’ll tie their skates is,’ so it’s been special,” Kody said.