THUNDER BAY -- At just five years old, Hunter Fernyc is not the largest superhero in terms of size but in terms of story, few have a more inspiring one than the local kindergartener.
His improbable journey can only aptly be described with the word miracle, and it served as the focal point for the Children’s Miracle Network kick-off through Walmart at the retailer's Dawson Road location on Friday.
For the next month, Walmart will be accepting donations for the Children’s Health Foundation, with the hope of collecting $55,000 across the three local stores.
The donations will go towards specialized equipment for enhanced medical programs that treat rare disorders such as Fernyc’s.
Fernyc was diagnosed with Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, an extremely rare disorder where hyper-aggressive white blood cells damage internal organs as well as other white blood cells.
“As far as we know, Hunter is the only person in Northern Ontario with it,” said his mother Jessica Page.
In 2014, Fernyc was diagnosed with the disorder and was flown to the Children’s Health Foundation in London. For the first five days, his parents were told he had no chance of surviving.
One hundred days later, after intensive medical treatment involving chemotherapy, Fernyc returned home.
To the local community, Fernyc is considered a superhero. It’s why he and Walmart employees dressed up and joined police to kick off the charity event.
“We came up with the [superhero] idea as a team. The kids are fighting the sickness, so they are superheroes in everybody’s hearts,” said Walmart manager Yuchi Yang. “We kind of wanted to bring the community together and raise awareness.
Fernyc dressed up in a Captain America costume and stole the show with his immensely positive energy.
“He misses a lot of school [due to illness], but for things like this we have no issue coming out,” said his mother. “It sounds funny, but him risking the germs is worth it for other kids.”
"It’s really hard to live in that moment, where you want to keep in a bubble, but at the same time he’s five, he wants to go out.”
