Family honours son with SickKids fundraiser

To celebrate the life of Hadyn Kivinen, the teenager's family will host a local fundraiser for Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) on Sunday.

Hadyn died in May 2015 from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, a poorly understood fatal complication that strikes otherwise healthy epilepsy sufferers. He was only 15 years old.

To honour Hadyn's life, his parents Jennifer and Mark, and twin sisters Taylor and Morgan, invite the community to participate in the first annual Hurry Hard for Hadyn Fundraising Fun Spiel curling event to raise funds for SickKids, where Hadyn underwent testing and treatment for epilepsy for two years.

“Losing our sweet son was our living nightmare, but we are somewhat comforted that he passed away at our cottage on the Key River/Georgian Bay, which was his heaven on earth,” said Jennifer Kivinen, in a press release. “We donated Hadyn’s organs to SUDEP (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy) research and are working hard to raise awareness and funds to support the cause. We want to do everything we can to ensure that no other family has to experience the tragedy of losing a child.”

During Hadyn’s life, he participated in a wide variety of activities and sports. As a Grade 9 student, he joined the LoEllen Park Secondary School curling team. He enjoyed the sport so much that during the 2014 holiday season, he organized a fun spiel with his own family. This is why the Kivinen family has chosen a fun spiel in his memory.

The event takes place at the Sudbury Curling Club on Feb. 7.

The Kivinen family is accepting any monetary or gift-in-kind donations towards their event.

Charitable receipts will be issued from the SickKids Foundation Hadyn Kivinen Memorial Fund.

For more information or to make a donation to the SickKids Foundation Hadyn Kivinen Memorial Fund, the family has created a website in Haydn's memory.