On July 6, a huge 1,300-pound sprayer tire that had been leaned up against a wall landed on and crushed seven-year-old Easton Daae, face down on the concrete floor at their family farm.
Despite all the odds, not only did Easton survive the accident, but he also didn't sustain any damage to his vital organs. He suffered small fractures to his pelvis, fractures to the left side of his face and upper jaw, lost one front adult tooth and chipped another.
Following his successful recovery, Easton has been named a Miracle Child for the radiothon for the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital Foundation.
Easton said the foundation reached to them and asked if he'd like to get involved with the fundraiser. And that opportunity made him happy.
"I want to teach people about my story," Easton said.
"And also raise money for the hospital," added his mother, Lauren Daae.
Following the injury, the family spent over a week at Jim Pattison Children's Hospital before returning home on July 15, with a large crowd of people waiting to greet him.
"Easton's got such a big community around him through what was going on and so if anyone felt touched by that we just … want to extend that, the care that we experienced, to other kids in need," said Lauren.
Once the accident happened, a lot of people reached out to the Daae family willing to help, but Lauren said they didn't really need anything. They went to Jim Pattison Children Hospital, and everything was taken care of there. And that's what the family now wants to help secure for others. So if anyone wants to help them with it in honour of what happened to Easton, they can support the fundraising efforts.
Lauren said there were people from all around the world, and especially from different parts of Canada, supporting them following the accident.
"There were lots of different countries that we were able to see respond, especially through the Facebook page. People were sending us messages and we received quite a few letters and special packages in the mail from people out of province," Lauren said.
The local farming community stepped forward and supported the Daae family through trying times.
Lauren said many farmers who heard their story taught their kids about it as well. The family also did their best sharing their story through Facebook and word of mouth to educate others about safety around equipment. They hope that with Easton being named a Miracle Child for the hospital fundraiser, they'll be able to spread the word even further, so first, more people take a moment to educate kids about safety, and second, more people realize what an asset Saskatchewan has in the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital and help support it.
"We're hoping that this story will reach more people this way through the hospital, because I think it's important for people to enact what kind of kids go to this hospital, putting a face to children. You never know who's going to need that care. These are our children. Especially in Saskatchewan these are farming kids that might need that care and it was so, so wonderful to have it," Lauren said.
"I think in these dramatic situations sometimes families don't want to talk about it, they don't want more attention. But we're happy to (share), obviously because we had such a happy outcome with it, but it really did rock our world because we never would have thought we would need that kind of a hospital … It also was a completely different experience for us. The care we got, especially during the pandemic, because they provided (opportunity) for both of us to be able to be with Easton, so he was never alone at any moment.
"That is huge and that's a huge part of the children's hospital. And it's just in our hearts to be able to give that to any kid that has to go through something like that. So we are just really hopeful that more donations can happen."
Just over three months after the accident, Easton says he feels "perfectly fine." He still needs some treatment, but most of it is in the past.
"I still need some healing. I can't do everything I used to do, but I'm starting to play hockey a little," Easton said.
He doesn't need to go to the children's hospital anymore, but the family recalls that experience as something special. While it was a bit scary for Easton to wake up in a place he didn't know, he liked the hospital with its many entertainment opportunities for kids.
The support during this year's radiothon will help kids like Easton receive specialized care when they need it most.
People can donate to Easton's personal fundraising page at https://pattisonchildrens.ca/p2p/miracle-story-easton or become a Hometown Hero for Easton, contributing $2,500 or more towards the local Miracle Child.
All donations on Easton's page will be matched by the Crescent Point Energy Corp.
Easton's personal goal is $10,000.
