What started as a conversation between several coaches at a hockey tournament has quickly escalated into something far bigger. The inaugural Fletcher Cup, a U9 hockey tournament, will be taking place in Rosthern on March 25th and 26th with funds raised from the tournament to go towards the Hobbins family to help them with medical expenses for 4-year-old Fletcher Hobbins. Fletcher and his mother Ashley will be heading to Toronto on Sunday, March 5th for several weeks, where Fletcher has several appointments lined up at Sick Kids Hospital and a neuro-surgery taking place on March 13th. Although Fletcher and Ashley will be unable to attend the tournament, Fletcher’s dad, sister and brother will be in attendance.
Fletcher and his twin sister Elliot were born on April 27th, 2018, and according to information provided on the ‘Fletcher’s Neuro Journey’ Facebook page, the family noticed that he was having feeding and weight gain issues, along with poor head and neck control and uncoordinated jerky movements. At 5 months old, Fletcher was diagnosed with Periventricular Leukomalacia, due to suffering an injury to his brain from lack of blood/oxygen while in utero. Since then, Fletcher has been classified as having dyskinetic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.
“One of Fletcher’s largest barriers to a better quality of life at this time is his muscle tightness and dystonia. It makes simple things like sitting in his wheelchair, or getting a bath, or getting dressed, extremely painful. We love Fletcher as he is, and even if we see no more improvements in his physical abilities, that is okay, but we are not okay to watch him struggle with the high levels of pain he does day in and day out. This affects our entire family and really limits the types of things we can do together,” the family explained on the ‘the ‘Fletcher’s Neuro Journey’ Facebook page.
The surgery in Toronto will be for deep brain stimulation (DBS), which is a surgery to help control random movements caused by disorders such as Parkinson’s and Dystonia and should help improve pain management and overall quality of life for young Fletcher.
Recently, an online auction was held to help raise money to cover costs associated with the medical expenses for the upcoming trip to Toronto.
Fletcher Cup event organizer Travis Sorenson plans to continue hosting the Fletcher Cup each year, with profits going towards helping the Hobbins family for current and future medical costs, and in future years, helping to support other local families, although the name will remain as ‘The Fletcher Cup’.
This year’s tournament is currently full, with 12 teams competing; however, Sorenson stated that they are currently seeking any local businesses or individuals that would be willing to help out the event by volunteering, donating prizes, or sponsoring the event.
For more information about Fletcher, visit ‘Fletcher’s Neuro Journey’ on Facebook. For details about the tournament, visit the ‘Fletcher Cup’ Facebook page and if you are interested in volunteering, or contributing to this event, contact travissorenson@hotmail.com.
“We are so grateful for all of the support we have received this far to help Fletcher along on this lifelong journey. We love him so much and truly just want to do absolutely anything we can to ensure he has the best life possible. Thank you for your continued love and support and for being our village, and most of all for loving Fletcher so much and seeing him for who he is rather than just his disability. He is the strongest kid I know, and as long as he is there ready to keep fighting, we will be too.”
