A North Vancouver father raised thousands of dollars for B.C. Children’s Hospital Sunday by auctioning off a unique hockey skate carving he commissioned as a special thank you to the health-care workers he credits with saving his son’s life.
Days before Dan Wickstrom’s son’s second birthday in 2016, an accident landed the toddler in a coma.
“I can’t imagine what would have happened without them,” Wickstrom recalled.
His son Dayton spent three days on life support at BC Children’s Hospital.
“He had minimal brain activity and the doctor basically said that we should expect the worst,” Wickstrom told Global News.
Dan Wickstrom’s son Dayton before an accident landed him in a coma in 2016.
Dan Wickstrom
If not for the dedicated doctors and nurses in the ICU, Wickstrom said his son would have died.
Dayton survived and is now a healthy seven-year-old.
“To know that that kind of facility is available to help you when you need them – it’s amazing,” said Wickstrom.
Wickstrom said he’s donated to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation since but wanted to do something more.
The hockey fan decided to commission an ice skate artwork as a charity auction piece with all proceeds going to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Wickstrom’s friend, artist Ryan Pakkalen, donated his time to carve the hockey skate out of red and yellow cedar.
Musqueam artist Chris Sparrow then added a Coast Salish touch with Indigenous bear and wolf designs on each side of the skate.
“It’s to represent strength for the community,” Sparrow told Global News.
With support from Direct Liquidation, the carved First Nations hockey skate was sold to the highest bidder at an online auction on March 6.
“It touches the heart a little bit,” said Direct Liquidation owner Jeff Schwarz.
“BC Children’s, plus the work on this is spectacular so we jumped on the opportunity to help.”
“I’d like to see the thing go for a million bucks but obviously that’s out of the question,” added Wickstrom as he waited for the item to open to bids.
In the end, the hockey skate sold for $6,800 and with the buyer’s premium included, Wickstrom’s total donation to charity is just over $8,000.
“I’m really grateful,” said Sparrow.
”It’s raising money…for the kids – that really touches me.”
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