On a warm evening in late September of 2017, a young man received a standing ovation at the Tournament of Aces dinner after delivering a speech praising the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada and the organizations that support it.
On a warm evening in late September of 2017, a young man received a standing ovation at the Tournament of Aces dinner after delivering a speech praising the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada and the organizations that support it.
“Being at the hospital I see a lot of sick kids. It's a sad reality. But by giving these children a wish, allowing them to have just a little bit of happiness in their life, it can make such a difference, ” said Tristan Garrett to the audience.
“I've had my own wishes granted, ” he said that evening. “And just by going to these events, it gives you so much energy, its unbelievable. ”
Garrett had been diagnosed with a rare bone cancer nearly three years prior. His determination and optimism despite the despairing situation landed him as a charity ambassador and beloved community member. However, on Dec. 22, 2017, Tristan lost his battle to cancer and died in his family's home.
The 15 year old, who had a profound impact on his friends and loved ones, was described to be mature and far beyond his years.
“Tristan taught me so many things during the short period of time he was here, but the most meaningful lesson I learned from Tristan was how to live with purpose, and die with dignity, ” his mother, Loreli Garrett, told the Cochrane Eagle in an email.
“One of the last conversations I had with Tristan was about how disappointed he was that he wouldn't be able to live his life the way he wanted. He said that when he was younger he always felt that he would do something, or become someone important, ” she said.
“He didn't realize that he had already achieved his goal, and he was unaware of the impact he had and how inspiring he was to so many people. ”
During the time he battled his illness, Tristan became a local spokesperson for Children's Wish Foundation and shared his stories at multiple events including the Tournament of Aces and the Kimmett Cup, while touching the lives of hundreds within the community.
“He was a very eloquent, a very confident speaker, in spite of the fact that he was 14 years old and all he had in front of him was bullet notes, dates, and things, ” said Dianne Kimmett, the mother of Lindsay Kimmett, a U of C medical student who died near the family acreage in a crash in 2008 and the honorary of the annual hockey charity event - the Kimmett Cup.
Kimmett said she recalls the day Tristan's wish was granted - a wish she had known about since he made mention of it in a speech at the 2016 Kimmett Cup.
“His wish was to fly. But because of his illness he wasn't able to do that.
However, in April 2017, Children's Wish arranged for the Garrett family and community members to meet at Springbank Airport under the pretence that Tristan was coming as a Children's Wish ambassador but surprised him by granting his wish of being taken up in a helicopter.
“I so strongly remember the look of incredulous on his face that he got to fly, ” Kimmett said. “He described his flight as freeing. He was away from the hospital and he got to be in a (helicopter) and look down at the mountains. So he was a huge, huge advocate for Children's Wish. ”
Kyla Martin, with Children's Wish, had the opportunity to get to know Tristan, and said that his maturity and humour resonated with her.
“Not too long ago, I was visiting with him and he was talking about how he felt responsible for when the medical professionals came to his home - he wanted to stay awake because he wanted to help coach the next up and coming doctors, ” said Martin. “He was the face of our Wish. He was our Wish ambassador, a huge component to our team here in our Alberta office. ”
Tristan's desire to tell his story was evident even after his death - he planned his entire funeral on Jan. 6 from start to finish.
“I'm so in awe of a young person that could do that, ” Kimmett said. “We walked in and there's a popcorn machine, bags of popcorn, chocolate bars. ”
After the guests and the family were seated the lights went down - the entire service was by Tristan on video.
“It was all of his words; he matched music. Every song was significant. He and his mom had put this all together and his dad, ” she said. “He only wanted happy pictures. He didn't want people to come and be sad and he didn't want anybody to stand there talking about him. He wanted to tell his stories. ”
Then the lights went up and everyone walked out to the song ‘Convoy.'
“Tristan, he just made you smile, ” Kimmett said.
The reception also had a buffet, which featured all his favourite foods. Among the guests included his oncologist, members from the Children's Wish Foundation and his palliative team.
“I think death is something they see on a regular basis and yet I think Children's Wish words were - they're all special all those cancer kids. But Tristan was just a certain kind of special, ” said Kimmett, who recalls the silence of the room when Tristan delivered his speech at the Tournament of Aces dinner.
“I don't even know the words to describe it. It was such an experience, ” she said.
As a final token of advice that night, Tristan left the audience with a comment in line with the work he dedicated his days to.
“Giving back is one of the best things you can do, ” he said. “There are no words to describe the power of kindness. ”
NOTE: A previous version of this story incorrectly said Tristan Garrett was from Cochrane. He was from Calgary.
