Sick Mother and Son Stranded in Hope, British Columbia, Rescued by Kind Strangers | The Canadian News

A mother and her two children, one of whom has a rare heart condition, have been flown to safety in metro Vancouver after spending more than two days stranded in Hope, BC.

Meghan Boulanger and her children Zain, 6, and Max, 5 months, were visiting family in Merritt, BC this past weekend, and were heading home when flooding and landslides blocked their way.

Like hundreds of others trapped on the roads during Sunday’s catastrophic rain, they ended up in Hope, cut off by closed roads.

“We didn’t eat for more than 24 hours,” she told Global News from a hotel room reserved by her partner, who is still in Metro Vancouver.

“Honestly, I was really scared that things would get worse and Hope would flood and we weren’t going out. It’s so surreal that even this is happening. “

Boulanger said they were able to get food, diapers and other supplies from the local high school, but securing medicine and emergency medical services for Max would be more complicated.

Max was born with a series of rare heart conditions that can increase his heart rate to dangerous levels without warning, requiring hospitalization. The medications keep her heart regular, her mother said, but if they ran out or had an episode, the local hospital is not equipped to handle her case.

The family visited the BC Children’s Hospital emergency room five to seven times last month, but Boulanger said the hospital could not organize their evacuation unless Max had a medical emergency.

They can’t afford to charter a flight, he added, nor do they have the funds to stay in a hotel until they have another transportation option.

“Her heart is unpredictable so I just need to be home,” she said through tears.

Global News interviewed Boulanger, Zain and Max on Wednesday morning, along with other residents and evacuees in Hope. By the afternoon, her story had been shared enough that several strangers offered to pay for her flight.

The grateful trio boarded a plane that same day.

The family is currently online fundraising to defray the costs of obtaining heart surgery for Max, which can only be performed in Toronto.

As of Wednesday, they had raised more than $ 9,000 of their goal of $ 20,000.