Inked

When we began this journey we had a feeling it was the most important thing we'd ever embark on in our lives.

We didn't expect the mark it would make on others. Literally, as it turns out.

This past weekend, four members of the #Dominicstrong team got thumbs-up tattoos as a symbol of what we've done together. Trish, James, Hannah, and Jordan etched something permanent on them reminding them not just what they've accomplished, but also that Dominic is a part of their story, too.

We had decided to do a group tattoo a couple years ago, but life happens and it kept getting delayed. At one point, we were going to have them done during the 2025 game day. Probably not the safest thing, and it just never got organized.

James finally took the bull by the horns and stepped up. Frankly, he and wife Hannah have kept the team's fundraising going all by themselves this year, doing another round of cupcakes recently. James hit the $10,000 lifetime mark via Extra Life, earning a special challenge coin. They've been with us since Day 1.

Jordan's another OG member, routinely running hockey pools, involved in every challenge and event. I could gush about all our team members, tattoos or not, but trying to keep this blog to less than a novel after not writing one in five months.

It's tax season so at our house, the motto is "all things are possible in May." Fortunately, the tattoo artist James found is down the street from the accounting firm she works for. Everybody was done quick, for a totally reasonable price, and Trish even got her Dominic "super-D and ribbon" tattoo recoloured. A quick reminder, I'm the guy who has fainting/seizure issues with blood and needles, so I'm among those who didn't get inked!

We're honoured to have such good friends, and more than that lucky to have a community that continues to support Dominic's legacy long after he's gone. Last year's totals added up to US$18,324.27 raised for the Alberta Children's Hospital, bringing #Dominicstrong's all-time total to US$283,820.41, or about CDN$389,257.63. We don't do big-money events, don't have a board of directors, and don't seek corporate sponsors to help us provide specialized services to sick kids. We're happy to raise some extra cash so that the hospital can do that. It's a lot. But we're glad to do what we can, and know that it makes a difference not just to kids in hospital, but friends who have become our family too.