Christmas gifts lift spirits of youngsters battling cancer

With support from a local tattoo shop, Chris Dayman raised $9,500 to get Christmas presents for youngsters going through cancer treatments.

"I've done the chemo myself and it wasn't pleasant to say the least," Dayman told CBC News Monday as he organized his gifts for delivery to the Allan Blair Cancer Centre in Regina. "It was terrible for me so I can only imagine how sick some of the kids would have been when they went home."

Dayman has been raising money for six months. Many Regina businesses have pitched in. One shop, Black Sea Tattoo, organized an event that generated about $6,000 for the cause.

Orrin Fleischhacker, a tattoo artist from the shop, said his family also knows how difficult treatments can be and the importance of knowing that cancer can be beaten.

"One of my nieces was diagnosed with cancer when she was six months old," he said. "They didn't think she was going to live past 12, 13. And now she's 27 and everything is great."

Dayman added he knows that Christmas time can be especially difficult for families.

"I started my cancer treatment Christmas eve, two years ago," Dayman said. "It wasn't a pleasant Christmas. So I know how rough it can be."

The gifts will be distributed by staff at the Allan Blair in the days leading up to Christmas.