Our two year old son Quinn Duncan was given the nickname of "The Mighty Quinn" months before he was born, long before we realized how ironic that name would once be. At two years of age he has been through more than most adults and has earned the right to be called The Mighty Quinn.

Quinn was born with a vascular tumour called a hemangioma on his face which grew at an aggressive rate causing large, painful lesions on his face causing his heart to work too hard and put his life at risk.

At 3 weeks old he had a major seizure and was airlifted to a children's hospital where he was diagnosed with prenatal stroke and PHACES Syndrome. He was put on a year long course of chemotherapy and steroids to control the growth of his tumors which was successful but he has been left with significant scarring and deformity and has lost his right upper lip.

Quinn needs specialized surgery which is not available to him in Canada and will require him to travel to the Vascular Birthmark Institute in New York City to see Dr. Milton Waner who will perform the surgeries necessary to give Quinn a lip and remove the scarring that has deformed his face.

Our beautiful little boy has repeatedly been referred to as a monster, has been stared at and often pitied and his parents want nothing more than to give him every opportunity at a good life.

Quinn has just been diagnosed with Autistic Disorder after a period of severe developmental regression. He is presently struggling to regain the speech and language he has lost but will need the proper use of his lip and mouth area in order to give him the best chance. The cards are stacked against Quinn with having had a stroke, a brain malformation, autism and a deformity. There are many things in Quinn's life that cannot be controlled but these surgeries will give him the best possible chance.

We thank you sincerely for taking the time to learn more about Quinn and his quest to get to New York City. The love and support our son and family has been given has made the past two years has helped us to continue to seek the best care for Quinn. At times the fight has been hard but we will not give up until he gets the help he needs. We believe in Quinn and believe that this will be the answer and the end of his hemangioma nightmare which at times has been a living hell for him.

It is an extremely humbling experience to have to ask for help but this is not something we can do on our own and are asking for your help to get Quinn the surgeries he so needs.

Additional funds raised above the costs surrounding Quinn's treatments and expenses will be donated to another Canadian child requiring surgery in hopes of one day developing a fund where families with children in need but unable to access the funds to pursue surgery can turn to help to ease the burden. It is our sincere hope that we will be able to establish such a fund in the near future.

With benevolence,thanks and blessings

To learn more about Quinn's journey with PHACES and Autism please visit:

please visit www.quinnduncan.com and www.phacesassociation.com