Dreams sparkle at Jack’s Gala: Reaching for the Stars

Lesley McKay

(Anna Laidlaw, former Canadian astronaut Dr. Robert Thirsk, Jack Laidlaw, eight, his father, Richard Laidlaw and Jack’s younger brothers Scott, six, and Tom, three were the special guests at the Jack’s Gala: Reaching for the Stars held on May 24th at the Brookstreet Hotel. Photos: Stittsville Central)

With a diagnosis in 2023 of SPG4 (a degenerative disease causing progressive neurodegeneration that leads to paralysis), eight year-old Jack Laidlaw holds on to his dream of becoming an astronaut. On May 24th, Jack came a little closer by meeting former Canadian astronaut, Dr. Robert Thirsk, who was the invited speaker at Jack’s Gala. Dr. Thirsk stepped into the space to replace Marc Garneau, former Canadian astronaut, when Garneau experienced a health issue.

Jack’s Gala, held in the Brookstreet Hotel ballroom, was an experience of travelling in space for the over 200 family members, friends and supporters who attended the lavish fundraiser. Currently there is no existing cure or treatment, so the Laidlaw family are doing everything in their power to ensure that the money is raised to help their son, Jack, and others through research to discover a cure.

(The young Laidlaw boys were excited to receive a space mission patch from Dr. Robert Thirsk, former Canadian astronaut and guest speaker at Jack’s Gala.)

At the outer space themed gala, attendees entered through a stars and moon entranceway. Stittsville’s Tyler Kealey gladly volunteered his time to entertain guests as he played piano during the cocktail reception, ensuring that ‘Rocket Man’ by Elton John and R.E.M.’s ‘Man on the Moon’ were a part of his repertoire keeping with the theme. All attending were invited to try out an immersive virtual reality experience, courtesy of MDA Space. Derek Fage, of Rogers Communications, was the MC and Stuntman Stu, along with some assistance from his daughter Isabella, oversaw the live auction.

We had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Thirsk, who also had the dream of becoming an astronaut from a young age. He still holds the dream of “returning to space for another circle of Earth”. He said, “this night is all about Jack and his family – the importance of raising the funds to support the rare debilitating SPG4 disease with research to find a cure.” “I am just honoured to be able to be here in the place of my good friend Marc Garneau to support this family and young Jack. As astronauts we are always at the ready to step into any situation.”

We got around to speaking about the famous seeds that were on the ISS with Chris Hadfield. “I recall the story about those tomato seeds and the experiment run by the University of Guelph and the Canadian International Space Agency with several seeds going to space on different missions under varying circumstances. I actually plan on mentioning the project in my speech.” We then shared that a batch of those seeds had made it to Stittsville and were grown in the garden at Frederick Banting Secondary Alternative School and that we had written an article back in 2019. He was not aware of where all the seeds were given out, but was pleased to hear that some of the seeds had been given to a local school that was environmentally conscious.

In 1983, Dr. Thirsk was selected for the Canadian astronaut corps from more than 4000 applicants in the first astronaut recruitment campaign. In 1984, he served as backup payload specialist to astronaut Marc Garneau for the October space shuttle. It wasn’t until 1996, that he flew as a payload specialist for 17 days aboard Space Shuttle Mission STS-78 aboard Columbia. In 2009, he became the first Canadian astronaut to go on a long-duration expedition aboard the ISS launching aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on May 27 and spending 188 days in space.

Jack’s Gala was an incredible ‘over the moon’ success, with over $100,000 being raised through the ticket sales and live auction for the SPG4 cause. The money raised will certainly help to bring the research that much closer to becoming a reality for the Laidlaw family.

(Anna Laidlaw and Jack at the Gala held in his honour.)

For information about the Laidlaw family, the Blu Genes Foundation SPG4 charity and the family’s fundraising efforts, visit the following links below:

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