Justin's Jedi

Justin and Andrew's Interview

What gives you hope?
Justin: There have been many other diseases that have swept large chunks of humanity, we've made it through before. Also, we can find a vaccine for Covid19. There are also some good things happening, global warming is slowing down.
Andrew: This is a great opportunity for people to connect with their family. We're all taking a staycation together. We've always been a really close family and now we just have even more time together. I get to spend the full day with my kids and I'm grateful for that.

Who inspires you?
Andrew: The main person is my wife. She's going into a stressful situation, she works as a nurse manager, and she's handling it with so much grace and bravery. I admire her strength and drive to help others.
Justin: Also mom, she's not afraid to just go out there and try to help people. The only thing she’s afraid of is bringing something home to us. She cares so much about other people. The second is my dad, I really admire his work ethic, and that he puts family first. The third is my cousin Jordan, we’re always staying connected. Because we can't see each other in person we're playing video games together online.

What advice or message would you tell someone who is in the thick of treatment during COVID?
Justin: I've been thinking about that a lot. It would be incredibly stressful, but it's important to remember to have faith.
Andrew: Have faith in the people who are caring for you, the medical professionals will take care of you. At Sick Kids, they're amazing, they know what they're doing. Their resiliency is truly amazing; our healthcare workers here are fantastic.

What is your favourite Light The Night memory?
Justin: Probably the first year I walked, almost everybody I knew had come. People would come just to say "hi".
Andrew: Justin was still going through treatment our first year. A lot of people wanted to be around him and see how he was doing. We usually have a lot of people come, but especially that year we had about 100.

How has your life been changed by a blood cancer?
Justin: I don’t feel like there’s much of a difference for me, all of the things I lost I got back. I lost my hair, and I played sports, and I lost those things for a bit, but I got back to soccer after. My hair also grew back. I don't really think there's anything that makes me different. I didn't even feel much of a difference going back to school, I picked up the work again really fast.
What inspired you to join Light The Night?
Andrew: When Justin was sick, a week into us being in the hospital, my wife went on walk down University. That's back when your offices were there. She went in and started talking to some of the staff, who introduced her to the community.