Community mourns Malcolm
Six-year-old died from incurable brain tumour on Tuesday
Evan Kiyoshi French
Northern News Services
Friday, August 28, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The boy who met the Edmonton Oilers, had a day declared in his name by the city, and who stole the hearts of residents at a packed fundraiser dinner in January, has died.
The Edmonton Oilers gave six-year-old Malcolm Austin, shown here with his father, Andrew Austin, a shout out on the Jumbotron during an Oilers game earlier this year. - photo courtesy of Andrew Austin |
Six-year-old Malcolm Austin's 11-month battle with brain cancer came to an end on Tuesday.
Courtney Lizotte, principal of Range Lake North School, where the six-year-old diagnosed with a rare brain tumour attended preschool, kindergarten and Grade 1, said Austin died surrounded by family members in Yellowknife. Lizotte said the family - parents Andrew and Kim Austin, sister Maggie, 13, and Malcolm's identical twin Lachlan - are taking some time alone to confront their loss.
"You can never really prepare yourself," said Lizotte. "It's very difficult on the staff and our whole community at Range Lake (school). It's very tragic. This morning our whole K-8 staff is here ... trying to figure out how we are going to start our school year.
"Our students will definitely need more support and Lachlan ... we want to make sure we have a plan to help him transition to Grade 2 as easily as possible."
Lizotte said Austin was a caring soul.
"He loved to share with everybody and to serve," she said.
"He really got into cooking at the end. He liked to do lots of cooking for his family."
The boy loved superheroes, said Lizotte, and the Incredible Hulk was his favourite.
"He loved colouring, he loved drawing, he loved crafts," she said.
She said Andrew Austin - a Grade 5/6 teacher at the school - is going to take some time off before resuming his teaching.
"You never know how long you're going to need with a situation like this," she said.
"He will definitely take a little bit of time, and we have a plan for his students. We're communicating with families, and everybody is picking up and providing that support for Andrew."
Austin was diagnosed with a brain tumour - identified as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) - on his sixth birthday, Oct. 1, 2014.
He began radiation treatment the day after Thanksgiving of that year and underwent six weeks of treatment at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton.
Family friends bought tickets for Austin and his father to see an Edmonton Oiler's game in October 2014. The pair attended the team's morning practice the following day, and players, including left winger Taylor Hall, signed their jerseys.
The city proclaimed Nov. 30 to be Malcolm Austin Day, and the boy was given a ride in a police car to N.J. Macpherson School, where a party was held in his honour.
In November 2014, 30 children from the Bella Dance academy danced to raise funds for the Austins.
In January, hundreds of people packed into the gymnasium for the Austin Family fundraiser, organized by administrative staff at the Yellowknife Education District No. 1 (Yk1).
Around $26,000 was raised to help the family cover costs during Malcolm's treatment during the event.
Malcolm, Lachlan, Maggie and their parents were at centre-ice during the Memorial Cup game between the RCMP and the fire department in February, to drop the puck and start the game.
Yk1 superintendent Metro Huculak said Tuesday was a sad day.
"We were hoping and praying," said Huculak.
He said he's tried to get in touch with the family about holding a celebration of life at Sir John Franklin School, but he hasn't heard back yet.
"I tried calling him (Andrew) today," said Huculak.
"I certainly feel for the family. It's never easy to lose a child. Unless you go through it, you don't know. If I lost a child ... I don't know how I would react. For Andrew and his kids, it's a difficult time right now. We try to support them as much as we can here from the central office."
