The Hultink family has gone through a terrible medical emergency in only a short amount of time and in the middle of a global pandemic. On Monday, December 7th, Mike and Deb Hultink’s 13-year-old son Tyler was diagnosed with a brain tumour the size of an orange.  In under a week, their son was rushed into surgery on Friday, December 11th.

 “I think feeling kind of dizzy in the last couple weeks but then on Monday, he started puking. He had a doctor’s appointment on Monday. Within six hours, he was in the Stollery. They were talking to a neurosurgeon and he was telling them that that there was a tumor there,” said Karen White a close friend of the family.

Thursday evening, White started a Go Fund Me for the Hultink family in order to cover hospital costs and lighten the family’s load. Overnight, the fund grew to over $15,000. For awhile, White said the fund was earning $1,000 an hour. She was happy to create the fund because this hasn’t been the first time the family has gone through a medical emergency and they have been shy to ask for help in the past.

Before Tyler’s surgery, White says the family was able to get have a small Christmas get-together.

“We made them their traditional Christmas Eve Supper and wrapped up the gifts that they had. Some other people bought gifts for them and we gave him Christmas on Wednesday night. Then, they had to go back up [to Edmonton],” explained White.

The Hultink family. Photo supplied by Karen White.

Karen says Tyler is well-known for his kindness and being a great older brother.

“He is super gentle and little kids love him. He is great with them and always smiling. He is a very kind-hearted kid,” said White.

Tyler has three younger siblings named Gabe, Mason, and Molly who love him dearly.

Tyler’s recovery is expected to be quite lengthy. Although the full diagnosis had not been determined yet, it is expected he will spend four to six weeks at the Stollery and then three to twelve in rehabilitation afterwards. Of course, if the tumor is found to be cancerous, his treatment could be much longer.

Deb and Mike Hultink are currently not working and are supporting him at the Children’s Stollery while a caregiver looks after their other children. Thankfully, they have been able to visit him in the hospital even through the pandemic. 

If you would like to donate to the Hultink family, you can find their Go Fund Me here.