When Dustin Seib stood at the summit of Whistler Mountain, about to accomplish his wish of riding down the mountain on his mountain bike, he felt like he was on top of the world.
Seib's ride down the mountain in the summer of 2009 was nothing compared to the long climb he took to the top after suffering from life-threatening leukemia. It was a journey aided by his family, by several doctors and by members of the Children's Wish Foundation who helped him attain his wish of riding down Whistler on his bike.
On the surface, you would never know that the 18-year-old Battleford youth had once suffered the ill effects of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer characterized by the rapid increase of immature white blood cells.
As the family described it, Dustin was so tired that he couldn't muster the energy to get up to go to school.
They went to see a doctor, blood tests were done and. on Feb. 2, 2007, the dire diagnosis of leukemia came back.
"Being diagnosed was kind of a shock for me and my family," Dustin said. "It was probably harder to see my parents' reaction than my own," he added, referring to his parents Darryl and Donna.
"I knew what I had to do, anyway - I had to get better."
Shortly after he began treatment, it was learned his leukemia was a rare type that could only be cured by a bone-marrow transplant.
Doctors identified his sister Ashley as having the best match for the bone marrow transplant, and Dustin began a new chemotherapy regime that would last three months to prepare a bone marrow transplant in Winnipeg at the children's hospital there.
It was during this time that Dustin communicated with Carla Loney-Tindall of the Children's Wish Foundation and it was through her he learned he would be able to receive the gift of a wish.
"She came to visit me and told me what it was all about," Dustin said.
Afterwards, Dustin thought hard about what kind of wish he wanted. That thinking, he said, helped him get through some tough times during his treatment.
"At the time, being sick - it gave me something to think about," Dustin said.
He received the bone marrow transplant, and after returning home in August he finally settled on his wish: receiving a mountain bike of his dreams and being able to ride it in a mountain bike trip to Whistler.
"I'm a really big mountain-biking enthusiast," he said. "I always wanted to ride Whistler, it's the top destination in the world for mountain biking."
Dustin had previously raced in some events along the trails near Saskatchewan Hospital and was already well-skilled at mountain biking.
He said he also wanted to try heli-biking, which would involve taking a helicopter up to the top of a mountain to bike down the trails.
It was an unusual wish because it was in two parts: first he would receive the bike, and then use it right away to build back his strength so he could be able to tackle a trip to Whistler.
Setbacks
But then came health setbacks due to complications from the transplant. It started off slowly, with vomiting from November right through January. Then he suffered an ulcerated duodenum that led to emergency surgery in Saskatoon.
After that his liver enzymes took a turn for the worse. Dustin suffered from what is called Graft Versus Host disease, a situation where donor cells don't recognize their new host body and begin to attack various organs. The condition attacked his lungs, liver and his stomach, and he also suffered terrible itching that wouldn't go away.
In early 2008 the family had been planning to go to Whistler by the summer, but that spring saw Dustin's health take another severe turn. In March came coughing and double-pneumonia, which led to three months in intensive care in Saskatoon where Dustin needed to be put on oxygen in order to breathe. His weight went down to 75 pounds.
"There have been many, many bumps in the road," his mother Donna said of the complications. In desperation, she phoned his bone marrow doctor in Winnipeg, where Dustin was flown in and treated on speculation. It was there that he was able to finally get the help he needed to begin the road back to recovery.
Even through the worst of his health problems, though, his family recounts that Dustin still held on to his goal of being able to one day ride down Whistler Mountain.
"At that time he already had an idea of where he wanted to be," said his dad Darryl, "and it was awesome for him to have that goal - just for him to think there was some light ahead - a huge goal like that to accomplish."
Three months later Dustin was back home with his family, off oxygen and able to walk once again, and ready to focus on fulfilling his wish to ride in Whistler.
"I knew I had to make sure to exercise lots," said Dustin, who began work to build his lung capacity. He still suffered the after-effects of severe scaring to his lungs from the pneumonia, so it took a long time, he said.
The folks at the Children's Wish Foundation were worried he wouldn't be strong enough to be able to ride Whistler. In spite of their concerns, when Dustin phoned them to say he planned to go to Whistler in July, they agreed.
The Ride
Setting a date for the Whistler trip proved a tremendous boost for Dustin's morale. With the trip now set, he worked hard to get his lungs and body ready to tackle Whistler Mountain. By June, school was over and even though Dustin's lungs were still not back to 100 per cent, he knew he was in good enough shape to achieve his dream.
His whole family flew to Whistler in July, staying hillside at the Westin Hotel. While the rest of the family enjoyed swimming and shopping, Dustin spent his time doing some shopping of his own and rode his mountain bike all over the area.
"Every day I just rode," said Dustin, who had the help of a guide to show him around.
Dustin was able to convince his dad to go up with him on Canada Day to the summit of Whistler to ride a mountain bike down with him. He also brought his friend Alexander Kozak along to ride that day.
"I was a little skeptical about riding the trails on my own," said Darryl about the experience.
Together, they rode winding and difficult trails all the way from the top, past some amazing scenery.
Dustin also was able to achieve his goal of heli-biking at Rainbow Mountain. A helicopter transported him and his bike up to the mountain top. His friend Alex joined him for that trip as well, and they rode a trail to the bottom of the mountain, something that took about four hours to do.
For Dustin and his family, the trip produced memories that lasted a lifetime.
"It was a goal accomplished," Dustin said, crediting the Children's Wish Foundation for making it happen. Without their help, he would have been in no position to pay for a new mountain bike or be able to go on such a trip, his family said.
"The trip was so well prepared," said Darryl. "It was very humbling to think they sent our whole family there."
But he said what he appreciated most was the fact that granting a "wish" gave Dustin a goal to achieve and something to look forward to.
It was particularly special for his mom to see how far Dustin had come from the days when he was on oxygen and eating very little.
"It makes your heart sing to see your child who was so sick and in intensive care multiple times to be riding a bike," said Donna.
Healthier Times
Today, Dustin is healthier than he has been since the ordeal started. Dustin remains cancer-free, and he has mostly recovered from most of the complications from the bone marrow transplant. His lungs are now back to 85 per cent of what they were before. His liver is much improved and the itching has eased.
He finished high school and plans to take some more classes at North Battleford Comprehensive High School to upgrade his credentials. He hasn't decided what to do yet for a career path, but says he will have plenty of time to figure it out.
He works part-time at Battleford Furniture, and last week he was active with BridgeFest, helping to set up for that event.
Dustin doesn't know yet whether his future will eventually include a return trip to Whistler. It's something he says he would like to do, but for now, he is content to enjoy biking and other activities around the Battlefords.
The whole Seib family continues to revel in the fresh memories of that week in July 2009 when they saw Dustin achieve his goal of riding Whistler.
"I actually took a picture of him standing on an Inukshuk with his arms raised," said Darryl. "It was great to see him get that goal, getting to the top of Whistler."
Darryl keeps that photo, which he snapped at the summit of Whistler Mountain, on his laptop at work as a reminder of that memorable time.
"It reminds you every day that we managed to pull it off."
