Monday afternoon and evening, Canadian Blood Services will conduct a blood donor clinic to honour Elijah Hennessey at Elliot Lake's Collins Hall on Hillside Drive North.
The four hour donor clinic is set to run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Elijah Hennessey is the little Elliot Lake boy who continues to struggle with life-threatening health issues he was born with.
He was born with a rare congenital heart defect and heterotaxy which means both his heart and stomach are located on the right side of his body. Doctors have told his family that Elijah will need at least three open-heart surgeries by the time he's three years old.
His mother and father say the little boy has had an amazing way of defying the odds.
Elijah was born on Nov. 23, 2017. The following March, in 2018, Elijah went on life support after undergoing a medical procedure in hospital in Toronto. During that period he needed blood products every day.
His mother Jessie Hennessey says without blood donors rolling up their sleeves, "Elijah would never have survived."
He had his second open heart surgery on Sept. 21, 2018 and recovered quickly. He was discharged from hospital in Toronto only a week later.
If you can donate blood at Monday's clinic, please book an appointment by visiting blood.ca or by calling 1-888-2DONATE.