An Abbotsford teen and his parents will appear this weekend on the 54th annual Variety Show of Hearts Telethon.
Jacob Bredenhof, 15, and his parents, Ray and Tracey, will make a live appearance on the eight-hour telecast, which takes place Sunday, Feb. 9 on Global BC and online via livestream at Globalnews.ca.
Their appearance is slated for the 4 p.m. hour. Variety provided Jacob with a physiotherapist who specializes in amputation clients.
Jacob was diagnosed in 2018 with osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer – the same one that Terry Fox had – which resulted in an amputation surgery called rotationplasty.
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He endured three months of chemotherapy prior to his surgery and another six months while recovering.
Jacob completed two kilometres of the Terry Fox Run on crutches that year, and his team raised nearly $18,000 for the cause.
Those efforts resulted in Jacob being recognized last fall by the Air Canada Foundation, which surprised him with tickets to a local Vancouver Canucks game, as well as all expenses paid for an away game against the Colorado Avalanche next month.
Jacob, who was an all-star basketball player at his elementary school, also had a special treat last month, when he got to meet Harlem Globetrotter Zeus McClurkin in person.
The telethon runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. direct from Hard Rock Casino Vancouver’s Molson Canadian Theatre.
The live entertainment lineup includes Said The Whale, Shawn Austin, Wide Mouth Mason, Todd Richard and The Tenors.
Variety – The Children’s Charity provides direct help to children with special needs in B.C.
Last year’s telethon raised more than $5.5 million. Visit supporting.variety.bc.ca/showofhearts for more information.
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