I received some very sad news today.
Last year, I read about the plight of a Calgary single mother of a terminally-ill boy with cancer in the local newspaper, and decided to do what I could to help.
They were being evicted by their affordable-housing landlord, Calgary Housing Services, because Parker had been given two dog as pets, and CHS does not allow pets. I decided I’d step up and rent one of my houses to Parker and his mom Alex at the same affordable rent they were paying — so they could keep the dogs, without worrying about having to pay more for rent.
My entire staff pitched in to do a big clean and renovation on the house so that they could enjoy their new place without worry. A big yard for Parker and the dogs ensured he’d have lots of fun playing with them, and just being a little boy.
Well, Parker passed away in his sleep yesterday.
It’s hard to explain the feeling I had when I first met Parker, and when I later saw him in his ‘new house’, playing with his ‘bestest-friends’, Rudy and Cooper (his two dogs).
For a kid that had limited life left, he sure lived what he had to the max.
What struck me so hard about this is that Raylene and I are just about to welcome our brand new little boy into the world, at the same time Parker has left us.
Expecting our first child gives me a lot more perspective on the heartache and tragedy of what it might be like to lose a child.
I can’t help but hope and pray that our little boy Cooper has half the heart and courage that Parker had, because Parker Anderson truly was an incredible inspiration.
And I think he got it from his mom Alex.]]>