Grade 10 Sinclair Secondary student Dylan Waduck has a lot to celebrate these days.
“When Dylan came home from the hospital after he was first diagnosed, his hockey and lacrosse teammates organized a big car parade,” says Gina. When recalling the car parade, Dylan says “it really felt like people were behind me and were going to help me get through the long road ahead.” “I wanted to help him with his homeschooling because he was so driven and so determined to keep up with his work, and I wanted to do anything that I could to support him,” explains Jason. He adds that students in Dylan’s class would often send messages and he would relay those to Dylan. “There was a lot of support in the school community for Dylan and he was never far from people’s thoughts.”
As Dylan’s chemotherapy treatments continued, his passion for sport never wavered. He has continued to play rep hockey and lacrosse. Last year he even competed in the Lake Ontario Secondary School Association cross country race and made the Sinclair hockey team. Now in his Grade 10 year, Dylan is once again in the process of trying out for his school’s hockey team.
On November 5, Dylan competed against hundreds of students from across Ontario in the OFSAA championship cross country event hosted at Dagmar Ski Resort in Uxbridge. Just before his 5-kilometre race, organizers of the event recognized Dylan and his journey, inspiring his fellow runners.