Sudburians urged to buy a temporary tattoo for Taylum

A fundraising event intended to help a Chelmsford toddler who is receiving a kidney transplant begins Monday and runs until Wednesday, when he's scheduled for surgery.

Taylum Lamoureux has Polycystic Kidney disease and has spent his entire life in Toronto living at Ronald McDonald House waiting to grow big enough to receive a kidney transplant. Now two years old, he will receive a transplanted kidney from a selfless stranger who will donate one of hers to him.

Starting this week, friends and supporters of the family will be selling temporary tattoos for $1 each and organizers are “encouraging all of our students, teachers, friends and family to wear them on May 13, the day of his transplant.

“The proceeds raised will be donated to Ronald McDonald House Toronto, and a portion of the proceeds will be used to purchase a play structure for Taylum when he is finally able to return home,” wrote Marymount Academy teacher Tammy Jutila, in an email. “It is the hope that each secondary school will be participating, and the campaign will only run for three days, May 11-13.”

Many local businesses will also be selling the tattoos to help the family. And anyone interested in buying a tattoo can contact one of the following organizers: Jenni Preen, 705-566-960; Jen Geddes, 705-969-2212; MacKenzie Crowther, 705-523-9235; and Tammy Jutila, 705-674-4231.

Since he was brought to Toronto, Taylum has lived at Ronald McDonald House, near the Hospital for Sick Children, with his mother Désirée Lamoureux. If all goes well, after the operation he'll be visiting the hospital every day for three months, for blood work and checkups, to make sure his new kidney is functioning properly.

After three months, if there are no complications, Taylum and his mother will be able to return home to Sudbury. But he will need to return to Toronto every two weeks for more checkups, over a three- to six-month period.