A Prince George family has been blown away by the community support leading up to a young girl’s 7th major surgery.
12-year-old Alexis Speirs always has a post-surgery party with a small group of family and friends, but this year, her mom Nicole decided to up the ante.
After reaching out to the community of Prince George, more than 400 people committed to sending cards, letters, and packages to Alexis as part of the surgery party.
Her mom, Nicole Speirs is still shocked at how far the story has reached, as cards come in from other places like Lac la Biche and Vanderhoof.
“All of this is coming out as a result of people wanting to help Alexis during this tough time, but it has triggered more than just support. It’s triggered this community support for each other, and people talking about the challenges they go through… People who have already had surgery or have kids waiting to go for surgery.”
Gestures as small as a conversation or a card go a long way on journeys as tough as Alexis’s.
“Alexis was born with (congenital) scoliosis. That means her back bones do not straighten out. She was born missing a vertebrae and the ones above and below that missing vertebra were only half formed. This is why she has scoliosis. She has had to wear thoracic casts and braces almost all day, every day for almost her whole life. She was also born with a cleft lip and primary palate. Usually when a baby is born with a few issues you investigate if there are more. My doctor refused my baby an MRI, and I felt she needed to rule out any possible syndrome. I kept at him -respectfully- until he fired me as a patient. He had to refer me to a new doctor and the next doctor got Alexis an MRI and we found out she had pelvic kidneys and a tumour on her spinal cord. Later on when she was 2, she was having a routine MRI of her back when they caught a part of her brain in the image. What it showed was a brain tumour made of skin cells. Alexis has had 1 brain surgery, 3 cranial facial surgeries, 2 back surgeries to date. She has had more MRIs and X-Rays than any human should have.”
With all that under her belt, it’s no wonder this tough young lady is inspiring people throughout the north.
It even caught the attention of MP Todd Doherty, who then decided to pay Alexis a visit.
“He called us from Ottawa and asked if he could come pay Alexis a visit,” recalls Nicole. “He wanted to give her some words of encouragement because he himself has come through a lot to be in the position he is in now.”
Doherty isn’t the only heart she’s touched on parliament hill.
Just a few days ago, Doherty reached past the body guards to relay her story to none other than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“I guess he was a little surprised Trudeau stopped for him, but he introduced himself and told him about Alexis…It;s just so unbelievable.”
Alexis joined Doherty and Mayor Lynn Hall as a special guest at the City’s Remembrance Day Ceremony, laying a wreath at the cenotaph.
As much as Nicole wanted to keep everything a secret and surprise Alexis in the recovery room, she’s accepted things have gone a little too far for that.
“Her first reaction- especially when she found out Todd Doherty was coming over- was just shock. She couldn’t understand why he was coming to see her. She just asked, ‘Why am I that special?’ and I told her she is that special. People recognize that you are strong, and that you’re a brave girl. Sometimes you don’t see it, but there are all these people rallying around you to show you this. It just kind of goes to show the support of family, friends, and the the community can help you get through just about anything.”
When Alexis goes in for surgery on January 6th, she’ll have a community behind her.
Cards and letters can be sent to Alexis Speirs, 2385 Royal Crescent, V2L 1H4.
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