Sudbury man swims across Lake Wanapitei in memory of his friend’s son
With a team of supporters beside him in the water, a welcoming committee waiting on shore, and the memory of a very special little boy pushing him on, Mattieu Bonin swam across Lake Wanapitei on Tuesday.
Everett, known as Evvy, was just about to turn four years old when he passed away from a rare heart defect called Ebstein anomaly.
“We want to build Evvy a legacy of light, you know,” said Bonin. “He was a trooper. He never quit. He came out fighting. He fought until the end and that’s how we want to remember him. Definitely this swim would not have gotten done without him pushing me. He was the wind in my sail, so to speak.”
“(He had) six open heart surgeries before he turned four,” said Evvy’s dad, Kristofer Cacciotti, who was on the support boat during Bonin’s swim.
“Everett’s spirit was larger than life. He was a tiny little boy but he filled any room that he was in and he had a very special ability to leave a trail of smiles in his wake,” he added.
“I would take Everett for blood work once a week and even walking in the hospital, he’s about to go get poked, and just the presence that he carried walking through the hospital, he would just turn heads.”
Bonin started around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, taking on the longest swim he’s ever done.
“When I was on shore looking across, there was some fear," he said. "It was definitely intimidating. It took me about 30 minutes to get into a grove and then it was good."
There was a point during the swim where he hit a strong current and whitecaps, which he said were both physically and psychologically challenging.
The swim was in honour of Everett, known as Evvy, who was just about to turn four years old when he passed away from a rare heart defect called Ebstein anomaly. (Supplied)
“I let my support/hype staff know that, you know guys I need some motivation," Bonin said. "So they started hyping me up and cheering me on and Kris broke out the pictures of Evvy and to me the message was clear: don’t quit. You know, Evvy didn’t quit, so don’t quit.”
Bonin said it was an emotional day from the beginning.
“I knew it was going to be an emotional swim," he said. "Kris built a little shrine to Evvy in the boat. He had his Buzz Lightning action figure, his favourite book, his shoes. As soon as he took all that out, the tears were flowing.”
Bonin wasn’t the only one with tears flowing on Tuesday.
“It brings me to tears. I was watching Matt come in and I had tears streaming down my cheeks because… words can’t even really describe it,” said Cacciotti. “It’s something that I’m going to carry with me forever.”
Bonin had a goal of $10,000 for his swim and the money raised will be donated to the Neo Kids Children’s Treatment Centre. It will be used to help children like Evvy receive the support they need.
“With respect to the various complications in his heart and the complications… he couldn’t walk, and he learned how to walk there,” said Cacciotti. “He learned speech therapy, occupational therapy and that allowed him to experience the world in a much better way and a much more enjoyable way.”
Now with the physical challenge over, Bonin and Cacciotti said they will continue to be inspired by Evvy in their day-to-day lives.
“Regardless of all the challenges that Everett faced in his life -- six open heart surgeries, countless bloodwork, multiple medications three times a day -- regardless of all of that, Everett only saw the good in the world,” said Cacciotti.
Bonin is already planning his next big swim in September across Ramsey Lake in Sudbury. That will be in support of Camp Quality and more children in need.
Donations to Neo Kids and in memory of Evvy can still be made here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.