Caserne 26 in Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que., looked a little different on Thursday.
For one day, the fire station was transformed into a blood donation clinic.
And for one of its own, firefighter Ryan Langton, this year’s blood drive carries a deeply personal meaning. One of the recipients is his daughter, Chiara.
“A lot of people, they don’t really know what their blood (donation) goes to,” said Langton.
“It’s not just her [Chiara] — it’s many other children at the Montreal Children’s [Hospital] and Ste. Justine’s that need blood to fight their cancer,” Langton said.
Global News first met Chiara in 2024, when she was just three years old and recovering from leukemia.
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Her family thought the most difficult part of their lives was over until the little girl’s cancer returned last year.
“To get that news after I had went back to work — we had just restarted — it was an absolute punch in the gut,” said Chiara’s mom, Christine Clogg. “It completely rocked our world.”
Another round of chemotherapy followed, then a bone marrow transplant, and when that wasn’t enough, doctors turned to CAR-T cell therapy.
Between treatments, there were still moments of childhood for Chiara, dancing to her favourite Taylor Swift songs and finding reasons to smile.
All the while, blood transfusions helped carry her through.
“She received over 20 transfusions of blood and platelets,” said Clogg. “Sometimes it was twice a day. Her body just wasn’t holding platelets. So she was constantly getting transfused to keep her at a healthy level.”
Today, the family is on the other side of that journey.
Chiara has been out of the hospital for a few months and is back to her daily routine.
She’s joined a swim team and is getting ready for kindergarten this fall.
The Langtons say they’ll never know the people whose blood donations helped their daughter, but standing inside this blood drive, they hope others will see Chiara and realize how much they’re helping.
“She’s the happiest little kid ever,” said Langton. “She doesn’t think about it (getting needles as a blood recipient), it’s just something she has to do. And if she can do it, I think anyone is able to do it. So don’t be afraid (to become a donor). You’ll feel really good about yourself at the end.”
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