OLDS – Led by the Ag Mech Club, several clubs and organizations at Olds College raised $10,000 to help eight-year-old Hudson Faught battle leukemia, a cancer of the blood.
As of June 3, a GoFundMe page had also raised $44,918 to help the family cover medical costs, travel and other expenses incurred as a result of the battle.
Dan Reaman is an Olds College instructor and faculty advisor for the Ag Mech Club.
He’s impressed, not only with what the club did to raise funds for the family, but also that so many other clubs and organizations on campus, like the students association, Sports Management Club and the Aggie Club, raised money toward that $10,000 as well.
“The Ag Mech Club had really kind of spearheaded the effort, and a few other groups got wind of it and decided that they thought it was a worthy cause,” Reaman said during an interview with the Albertan.
“So they all pitched in and took some of their fundraising to the next level, and ended up, like, I say, with a total $10,000, which is amazing.”
Every year, the Ag Mech Club fundraises for a cause or organization of their choice.
Previously, they’ve tended to raise funds for the STARS Air Ambulance.
“I, at the start of the year, said, ‘yes, absolutely, we can donate to STARS, but maybe we want to do something locally as well,’” Reaman said.
“And so I just put the option out to them, and they really just took it and ran with it.
“Since, I'd say probably October of 2024, they've been fundraising and focusing mostly on raising money for Hudson specifically.”
Joe Faught, Hudson’s father, is grateful for the donation, which was provided to the family earlier this spring.
“This donation has made an incredible difference in our lives,” Faught wrote in an email.
“When you're facing something as overwhelming as a child's cancer diagnosis, it's easy to feel lost and alone,” he wrote.
“But the thought and generosity of the students at Olds College has given us not just financial relief, but also emotional strength.
“It's allowed us to focus on what matters most – being there for our son, supporting him through treatment, and creating moments of hope and joy as a family.
“We are so grateful for the love and support we received from the Ag Mech Club, Sport Management Club, and Students Association of Olds College.”
Hudson is a real fighter when it comes to this disease.
“Hudson is such a brave and strong boy,” Faught wrote.
“We are amazed at how positive he stays during long chemotherapy days, his courage when he is subjected to needles, tests, swabs, and exams and how he still manages to live every day to the fullest.
“He is looking forward to living a more normal life, and there have been setbacks, but he is excited to play baseball this year and do more normal activities.
“His immune system is still too suppressed to attend school and he has had some setbacks resulting in hospitalizations but he continues to fight.”
Faught said he and his wife Tiffany are managing to cope, despite the toll the disease has placed on the family.
“We all have good days and really hard days,” Faught wrote.
“It’s very stressful when Hudson gets a cough or a fever or a scrape, because he has such a weakened system from his chemo.”
A few weeks back, Hudson went to bed feeling fine, but “woke up struggling to breathe,” Faught wrote.
Paramedics ended up treating him and transporting him to the Children's Hospital.
“Things can go from being normal to an emergency very quickly,” Faught wrote.
“We are very lucky to have the support of our families and community and are grateful that our other children, Rylee and Jasper, are always in good hands if we need to make an unexpected trip to the hospital.
“But we have accepted that it’s going to be a long journey with lots of unexpected turns and we just need to take it one day at a time.”
