Thanks to Carter Vigh, children in small towns will have access to accurate, life-saving air quality information.
This month Cartersa国际传媒檚 parents, Amber and James Vigh, launched Cartersa国际传媒檚 Project in Partnership with the B.C. Lung Foundation. At the Wonder Gala in Vancouver last Thursday, the 100 Mile House couple raised $74,000 to get the project going. Cartersa国际传媒檚 mother said there wasnsa国际传媒檛 a dry eye in the audience as she and James shared his story.
sa国际传媒淯nfortunately it took the death of our son (for people) to realize how incredibly important it is for people to have real-time accurate information about air quality, especially during wildfire season,sa国际传媒� Vigh said.
When she walked into the gala, Vigh said it was emotional to see so many posters of Carter and to meet the scientists working to understand lung health. She said she and James were humbled to receive the Dr. Peter Par茅 Award in Lung Health Excellence Award for making a difference in Cartersa国际传媒檚 name.
sa国际传媒淐arter was the most incredible kid and I always knew he was going to make moves in this world. We always say he was going to move mountains and when the B.C. Lung Foundation came to us, I just knew that was him still making those moves and moving those mountains. He would be so proud hesa国际传媒檚 going to save other kidssa国际传媒� lives.sa国际传媒�
Carter lost his life four months ago on July 11, 2023, due to an unexpected asthma attack exacerbated by wildfire smoke. Vigh said she had checked 100 Mile Housesa国际传媒檚 air quality advisory that day to determine if she should send Carter to a summer camp at the South Cariboo Rec Centre.
sa国际传媒淭he air quality monitor available to us in 100 Mile actually comes from Williams Lake,sa国际传媒� Vigh said. sa国际传媒�(If you live in 100 Mile House) you know how different the weather can be from Lone Butte to downtown 100 Mile House, so to have our air quality monitor in Williams Lake or Kamloops is a significant difference.sa国际传媒�
The advisory read at a two and Vigh said they couldnsa国际传媒檛 see or smell any smoke. Around noon when the smoke started to roll in Vigh had someone pick Carter up and they stayed inside for the rest of the day until he started to cough violently. After being taken to the hospital his symptoms only worsened and he was pronounced dead at 7:20 p.m.
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After his funeral, Vigh said the B.C. Lung Foundation reached out to them and asked if they would be all right with them using his story to raise awareness and money to help monitor air quality in small communities across B.C.
sa国际传媒淲e have started Cartersa国际传媒檚 Project with the B.C. Lung Foundation and our goal before last weeksa国际传媒檚 gala was to raise enough money to install 100 purple air monitoring systems throughout 100 Mile House,sa国际传媒� Vigh said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 going to start in 100 Mile House and itsa国际传媒檚 going to give people the ability to check air quality in real-time in the actual area theysa国际传媒檙e in.sa国际传媒�
Vigh said they plan to have them all installed by March ahead of the wildfire season in B.C. She plans to host a town hall in early 2024 to tell the community how they can apply to get one of the monitors installed in their homes and ways they can build an air purification tool for home use. The first two monitors will be installed at the Vigh household, one inside and one outside, to show how different air quality can be.
After the monitoring systems are set up in 100 Mile House, Vigh said she and James intend to keep Cartersa国际传媒檚 Project going. They want to raise money and install similar systems in small communities across B.C. to ensure everyone has access to accurate air quality monitoring systems.
They also plan to sponsor children with asthma and send them to the B.C. Lung Foundationsa国际传媒檚 asthma camp. Vigh said this camp provides children with the knowledge and tools to manage their asthma while having a fun time.
Vigh said that while she is proud she and James can do all this in their sonsa国际传媒檚 memory, theysa国际传媒檇 trade it all in a heartbeat to get him back.
sa国际传媒�(Tuesday, Nov. 7) is 17 weeks since the last time we ever got to hug him or talk to him. Itsa国际传媒檚 definitely hard but Isa国际传媒檓 super proud we can do this for Carter and make a difference in his name,sa国际传媒� Vigh said. sa国际传媒淚 wish it didnsa国际传媒檛 have to be Carter, I wish he didnsa国际传媒檛 have to die in order for these changes to be made but wesa国际传媒檙e going to make a difference for Carter.sa国际传媒�
