Brandon turned out in a big way once again to support a young man dealing with a rare genetic disorder at the Hope 4 Holden golf tournament in support of Holden Stewart.
Community support for the event was strong again this year, as it has been in years past. There were over 320 people at the dinner on the evening prior to the tournament, and then the tournament officially began the following day with 182 golfers.
“The support from Brandon since we started this initiative has blown my wife Jill and I away,” said Holden’s father Derrick. “We couldn’t be more thankful for all the support we received. This year, we didn’t even have a chance to put teams on sale, we had them sold out before we had even planned to open up registration. We always try and make sure all of our sponsors get teams, and we’ve had so much demand for sponsorship and teams that it’s actually mind-blowing.”
Holden has a rare genetic condition called Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T). It affects his movement and speech, and has the potential to impact his immune system, though Derrick said Holden’s immune system is not compromised yet and they monitor that very closely. The Stewart family has had to learn a lot about A-T, and its unique nature required them to learn fast.
“It was very hard to navigate at the start because his diagnosis coincided with all the COVID rules,” said Derrick. “Trying to get into hospitals for appointments and people telling us only one parent could come, all of the stuff that comes along with those COVID rules on top of all the stress that comes with having a kid that was clearly showing some signs that something was up but we didn’t know what it was. At one point, we thought it was a brain tumor. You had a lot of ups and downs, it was a rollercoaster.”
Holden Stewart is described as having “a personality that fills every room he walks into”. (Image courtesy Derrick Stewart)
Eventually, a geneticist from Winnipeg who was familiar with A-T told the Stewarts what they were facing. Coming up on the fifth anniversary of Holden’s diagnosis, the family is now raising money for research in the hopes that they can help not only Holden but other families facing the same genetic disorder. And the community of Brandon has thrown their weight behind them without hesitation; last year’s tournament raised over $93,000 and this year’s promises to equal or better that number with a few calculations still to be made.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Stewart said. “We’ve been very fortunate the level of support we’ve had.”
The Stewarts billeted Wheat Kings’ forwards Caleb Hadland and Joby Baumuller this past season, and Derrick expressed gratitude to the whole team for the way they stood behind Holden, with many current and former Wheat Kings at the tournament. And on the day of the tournament, Holden himself was out there to thank people in person.
“He’s out there all day, running around and talking to everybody,” Derrick said. “He worked at a hole with my mother in law most of the day. He loves to be out there and to thank everybody for the support.”
Derrick added that research into A-T also helps with cancer research so donations to this cause have a wide range of effects across the entire healthcare system.
