Humboldt family overwhelmed as community steps up to help with transportation issue

By Becky Zimmer

It takes a village to raise a child, especially when that child and her family is in need.

Despite Annataya Nahnepowisk-Brown’s prenatal diagnosis of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, the happy little girl ran around the Humboldt A&W on Wednesday with her nine-year-old brother Dayne while dad, Andrew Brown, and grandparents, Laura Raff and Terri Cooke, looked on.

With the diagnosis came two surgeries, and a third to possibly come next spring, and countless trips to the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon.

Their recent trip to Saskatoon had been the first cardiology appointment since before the COVID-19 pandemic turned the children’s hospital into a COVID ward and appointments were put on hold.

Brown said it has been a continuous fight to keep the three-year-old happy and healthy and that journey isn’t going to end anytime soon.

However, the family is facing a new challenge of not having a reliable vehicle.

Colleen Cornelius, manager at the A&W and a retired nurse, heard about their medical transportation struggles two weeks ago. It was one of those moments where she had to do something.

In partnership with Dan Hinz at DanWheels, they will be fundraising to find the family a reliable vehicle to get Nahnepowisk-Brown to her appointments.

Also helping with the fundraiser is Mayor Michael Behiel, who is using his network to look for corporate sponsors to help the family.

“When I heard of the situation that was going on, and I felt that these people definitely could use a hand up to ensure that their child to get proper medical care and continue on like that, and hopefully have a fast recovery,” Behiel said. “It just made sense to me that this is something that I needed to help with.”

Brown didn’t know what to think at first since Cornelius was a stranger until Wednesday. Now, he said, his faith in humanity has been restored through this act of kindness towards him and his family.

“It’s a little overwhelming, but at the same time, (we’re) so grateful,” Brown said. “You don’t see these kinds of acts every day anymore.”

While it is early in their fundraising efforts, Cornelius said she is taking donations of cash or gas cards at the A&W with possibly more fundraising details to come.

Brown said the support from the community has been overwhelming as they continue to treat his daughter’s illness.