OLDS — The Holy Trinity Catholic School gym was packed on Oct. 23 as several family members had their heads shaved in support of seven-year-old Hudson Faught who is battling leukemia, a cancer of the blood cells.
Getting their heads shaved were Hudson’s parents Joe and Tiffany Faught -- both longtime teachers at the school -- as well as his grandfather, uncles and a couple of cousins. Their heads were shaved by Kimberly Thompson, Mandy Opheim and Kassandra Marshall.
Hudson is one of three kids in the Faught family.
The school raised a total of $1,362.95 which will be divided between the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society and the Faught family.
There were several fundraisers.
Students brought $2 donations to wear a hat for Hudson. That raised $684.10
Students in the Flexible Learning Environment (FLE) classroom for high-needs boys raised $678.85. They did so by baking and selling hundreds of pumpkin tarts. They presented the cheque and the card, which had been laminated and sanitized to keep it safe from germs for Hudson.
During an interview with the Albertan, Joe Faught said Hudson’s first symptoms occurred in about mid September. He wasn’t officially diagnosed with the disease (T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia) until Sept. 28.
He’s now being treated in Children’s Hospital in Calgary.
“He’s in the first round of treatment which is twice a week – pretty intensive – until around Remembrance Day. It’ll be once a week for quite a while after that and then we should be able to manage it at home,” Faught said.
“But from start to finish, the whole treatment thing is two-and-a-half years.”
Faught said the first symptoms were a change in Hudson’s energy level.
“He wasn’t finishing his lunch at school and he was hard to wake up in the mornings,” he said.
“He was just starting hockey tryouts and we noticed he didn’t have as much energy as he usually does. And there were lots of unexplained bruises.
“And then when he threw up and there was some blood in it, that was kind the alarm that made us bring him into the hospital. All of those symptoms combined really raised the flag.”
Faught said initially he and Tiffany figured Hudson’s tiredness and the bruises were due to the hockey tryouts.
But the lack of interest in eating was unusual.
“It was just really weird that he wasn’t eating his lunch, because he loves to eat,” he said. “And we just weren’t sure exactly – like, we didn’t really have a reason for it that made sense.”
So Hudson was taken to Olds Hospital.
“We took him in that day and they tested his blood. They noticed some irregularities with his blood that were a pretty major concern,” Faught said.
“We went immediately to the Children’s Hospital and we were seen immediately and the diagnosis was confirmed that same day.”
Faught was asked if the disease was caught early enough for a potentially good outcome.
“Leukemia is a little different than some of those other cancers that have the stages and stuff. (In) this one, early detection isn’t quite as big of a thing, compared to other ones,” Faught said.
“It was caught pretty early though, which is good. The tumour that he had in his chest would have been a lot bigger, had we not caught it sooner.
“And there’s a risk that some of the cancer would have gotten into some of his spinal and brain fluid if we hadn’t got it earlier as well.”
Principal Jolanta Oko addressed the student assembly as the event got underway.
“We are coming together as a community to support a beloved member of our school who’s facing a really challenging journey,” Oko said.
“Today, we are holding a head shaving to honour Hudson Faught who has shown incredible strength and courage.”
She stressed the importance of being kind to others.
“Kindness is not just a word,” she said. “Kindness is a really powerful action. It’s about standing by one another in times of need and showing people that we care.
“Today, as the Faught family prepares to shave their heads, they’re not just making a statement. They’re showing Hudson that he is not alone.
“When we support one another in this way, we create a sense of belonging that can brighten even the darkest days for people.”
Oko called on the kids to show their support with a loud roar, which they did, very enthusiastically.
Grade 5 teacher Devin Simon served as MC.
As he spoke, Simon moved around the gym, showing the crowd on his phone, which was projected onto a big screen at the front. Hudson could be seen on that screen waving back to the crowd.
“Our friend Hudson is very brave and very strong to have to taken on this fight,” Simon said.
He said the disease is “very treatable” and thus, that Hudson will eventually be OK, but it’s going to be a long battle.
“Make sure we keep Hudson in our prayers, make sure we’re still including him in our school community, because he is still a part of Holy Trinity School, and will be for a long time,” Simon said.
As part of the program, Joe and Tiffany Faught received a big card signed by students and staff, along with the money raised by the FLE boys. That sparked applause.
A big toy monkey was also unveiled.
“It’s not a live monkey – I wish,” Simon said. “But it is a monkey to fill the spot in Hudson’s chair while he is missing.
“Hudson’s monkey sits in Hudson’s desk in school. The Grade 2L class likes to read with him and put notes and pictures into the monkey’s backpack.”
Then it was time for the head-shaving event, to reassure Hudson that he is not alone, that his family and others are supporting him.
Hudson’s grampa Terry, uncle Mike, uncle Rob and his cousins Mikey and Colt as well as his parents, made their way to chairs at the east side of the gym to loud applause and cheers. Another family member joined in as well.
As their heads were shaved, one by one, the students, spurred by Simon and sometimes spontaneously, broke into cheers for Hudson.
One of the loudest and strongest was, ‘let’s go Hudson, let’s go,” followed by short clapping.
Others were, 'Hudson strong, we stand as one;' 'Fighting with you 'till the battle's won;' 'Fight like Hudson, brave and true.'
The event ended with loud applause and cheers.
Joe Faught was asked what he thought about what had transpired.
“It was really touching to feel all the love and support from our school community,” he said. “We’ve been a part of it for 14 years, and to feel just that outpouring of love and support was amazing.”
Grade 3 Holy Trinity teacher Pamela Fischer wrote in an email later: "It is a long road to recovery, but he is a strong and resilient little boy with a passion and drive that will help him beat this battle, #hudsonstrong. They are very special people who mean a lot to me. They have been dealt an unimaginable hand."