THUNDER BAY – The last two years haven’t been easy for the Binghams. At the beginning of 2018, the Atikokan family’s son Alex was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis and advanced liver cirrhosis.
What the family had initially taken for a bad cold quickly became a life-threatening condition that saw Alex rushed to Thunder Bay, then sent to the Victoria Children’s Hospital in London.
Things are better now, but Alex, now 16, is still left managing a life-threatening condition with major impacts on his daily life.
Alex’s mother, Angela Kitchen, says the Atikokan community has helped them get through the experience. The town rallied to raise thousands of dollars for the family, which allowed her to take time off work to be in London with her son.
Kitchen says Alex's stoic attitude has helped her come to terms with the situation.
“He doesn’t complain,” she says. “He kind of taught me – I was always a worry-wart, and he’s been so carefree. It gives you a new perspective of life, what’s important and what’s not.”
Now another act of kindness has helped brighten the family’s Christmas. Kitchen received a call earlier this week from the Make a Wish foundation, telling her to be in Thunder Bay for Friday. She had applied for the program, which helps grant wishes for children with critical illnesses, about a year earlier.
She says she initially hesitated to apply, thinking about how many other children might be in need. But she wanted to do something special for her son.
“He’s had a pretty rough year,” she explained. “So this could be a little bit of the light at the end of the tunnel for him.”
A technology lover, Alex opted for a shopping spree at Best Buy. Alex and his family were ushered into the store early Saturday morning, before it opened to the public. The teen says he had expected to be gifted a few exciting items, like a large-screen television and new iPhone, but was taken aback at the chance to pick out nearly anything else he wanted.
“I was pretty overwhelmed,” he said. “I was expecting a few things, that was it.”
While some might have run wild, Alex took the opportunity to grab a couple of important items: a mount for his new TV, a soundbar, and Play Station 4. A personal shopper accompanied the teen through the store to help him choose..
“It’s a very humbling experience, to have my team be part of his wish,” said Best Buy store leader David Arts. Arts welcomed the family to the store, along with several of his associates. “To see all the smiles, that was awesome.”
