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Dad gives back for eight years of treatment at Sick Kids

August 30, 2018   ·   0 Comments

Written By SCOTT TAYLOR

It takes people made of solid stuff to take such an unfair blow and turn it into something positive. So it is with Caledon’s Chris Hasmatali, whose son Colton has been in and out of Sick Kids more times than he would like to remember.

Colton, who is eight now, was born with aniridia, which is in general terms the absence of an iris, as well as Peter’s anomaly, another eye condition that has left young Colton blind.

“From two days after he was born, we’ve been going to Sick Kids. He’s had, probably, 23 to 25 surgeries in his life. He’s had glaucoma in both eyes, cataract surgery in both eyes, two corneal transplants in his left eye, astigmatism, and he has a shaky eye condition called nystagmus. We’ve been going to Sick Kids for eight years religiously, sometimes twice a week, sometimes once a week and now he’s somewhat stable, but legally blind.”

After all that care his son received, Hasmatali wanted to give something back so he organized a golf fundraiser at Glen Eagle Golf Club recently that raised about $5,000. It’s something he plans to do on an annual basis, along with more fund drives he’s still contemplating.

“We’re very, very fortunate for what they did for him and everybody else there. Everyone knows that Sick Kids is a really great institution.”

The owner of Lincoln Pools in Bolton, Hasmatali said next year at Glen Eagle is already booked. He plans to raise money for the hospital again, but he also has ambitions to give back to the Caledon community as well.

Lincoln Pools offers all sorts of services, including full pool services, landscaping, home renovations, interlocking decks, and they even do snow removal in the winter.

         

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