Game Day No. 9

Well this isn't what we'd hoped for.

When we first thought about this year's 25-hour Extra Life marathon, we figured things would be back to normal in the world. After all, the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic only lasted a year, right?

At the time of last year's marathon in November, our city had a total of eight active COVID-19 cases. We felt safe, and were safe to legally gather with 14 of our best friends and play games to raise money for the Alberta Children's Hospital.

Today, the active case number is 99. And that's a three-month low. Dozens of people in Medicine Hat have died from the disease and provincial restrictions only allow us to have one other household join us for game day.

I won't lie: it's tempting to break the rules. Everyone in our circles is vaccinated but for one key group: The kids. And that's who we do this for. And so we will do what we can within the guidelines.

The situation has been even worse at the children's hospital. Imagine only two people allowed in to see your child. No family visits, no well-wishing friends, nothing. Combine that with major surgeries being cancelled, ones your child needs to live. It's truly horrific.

Last year we did dice rolls for donations. It was a ton of fun, so we're bringing it back! Only this time, a donation of at least $10 to any one of seven people will result in a dice roll potentially affecting any of us. From dancing to the hottest hot sauce you can find, the hijinks will be fantastic and it's all for a good cause.

If you want to see all the fun, we're going to have a post in the #Dominicstrong Facebook group where all completed challenges will be shared. I'm also going to live-stream parts of the day either on my Twitch channel or Facebook Live.

This will be our ninth year participating in Extra Life game day. Over that time, #Dominicstrong team members have raised nearly $250,000 for the hospital.

We aren't done. The Spanish Flu actually lasted two years. So much for learning from history! We'll all come out the other side and yes, the 10th-year #Dominicstrong party is going to be a big one.

If you'd like to make a donation prior to game day, I encourage you to visit Trish's page (http://www.extra-life.org/participant/trish)- she'd like to crack the $1,000 mark this year, and I'd like to see her get more than $2,500.