CORNWALL, Ontario – What would normally be a home full of the hustle and bustle of Christmas is going to be decidedly quieter this year for a young Cornwall man and his family.
Colin Boisvenue, in just a matter of weeks, lost two people close to him when his father Gordie passed away tragically following a massive heart attack Oct. 28, only then to have his uncle Mike Degan succumb to muscular dystrophy just three weeks later on Nov. 18.
Degan was 58, and Boisvenue’s father Gordie was just 51.
“It will be pretty quiet this year, that’s for sure,” said Boisvenue, a well-mannered and articulate St. Lawrence College student of game development. “It will be different.”
No kidding. Where there was once six people that filled his Cornwall home there are now just two – Boisvenue and his mom.
A couple of older brothers have since moved out of the home, and with the deaths of Mike and Gordie, things will be understandably subdued.
“It’s still very surreal,” said Boisvenue. “The family is sticking close together and trying not to think about it.
“We’re keeping busy.”
Well, Boisvenue is keeping busier than most.
On top of a busy school schedule Boisvenue has created a Go Fund Me page to help raise money for muscular dystrophy. He said he wanted to do something to honour his uncle’s legacy, while also tying in the passing of his dad.
Already $1,000 has been raised via online pledges and personal donations.
“My dad was really the reason for starting this whole thing,” he said. “When he passed away the whole family did a fundraiser for heart and stroke. I was just looking up a couple of things and I thought I would do something for muscular dystrophy.
“Mainly it’s about awareness.”
Muscular dystrophy is a hereditary condition marked by progressive weakening and wasting of the muscles that has afflicted thousands of Canadians.
Boisvenue said he plans to continue to collect money over the next couple of weeks, before presenting it to Muscular Dystrophy Canada.
