Sarah Williams
Beaver Staff
Yarker’s Kyla Tozer is no stranger to adversity. About a decade ago, Tozer was diagnosed with a debilitating brain tumour, which threatened her life and forced her to drop out of school.
Now, Tozer is on track to become a neurosurgeon, being in the latter part of her pre-med degree at Queen’s University.
Tozer’s life changed for the better after receiving life saving surgery at Kingston General Hospital. Now, she is giving back by the Chase a Dream Race each year, wherein participants can run or walk 2k, 5k, 10k or a half marathon.
The race takes place on the first weekend of May just outside the Norman Rogers Airport in Kingston
This past May will have been the fourth year in a row for the race, with all proceeds being donated to the Division of Neurosurgery at Kingston Health Sciences Centre.
So far, close to $80,000 has been raised for the Division of Neurosurgery.
After tallying the race scores for yet another year, Tozer took some time to speak with the Beaver regarding the race.
“We have tons of community sponsors for the race. It seems like everyone in the community has either known somebody who has had (neurological) surgery, had surgery themselves, or likewise been affiliated with the neurosurgery department in some way,” commented Tozer, when speaking about the breadth of support for her initiative.
Tozer emphasized that the race is supposed to be fun, with over 100 community sponsors donating anything from a gift card to a couple thousand dollars. This year someone donated a lazy boy recliner, a Mac Book Computer, and an entire Lululemon Outfit.
From the many donations, Tozer added, winners are able to pick their own prizes.
Now being able to shadow doctors in the neurosurgery division at Queen’s, Tozer gets to meet a lot of people who went through a similar ordeal.
“A lot of recovery stories are very similar,” Tozer said, adding, “It is (neurosurgery) a very sad division. It’s very rare that people walk out and have a really happy outcome, so it’s nice to be able to have an event that everyone can talk about and participate in that has a happier environment.”
Tozer is adamant that apart from fundraising for the Division of Neurosurgery at Queen’s, she is also helping people to find hope.
Speaking of the need for neurological patients to find support, Tozer describes the race as, “a way to take your life back.”
Being the only acute brain injury facility this side of Sunnybrook hospital, Tozer is hopeful that her race will garner attention as far away as the GTA.
“It’s really important to reach out to the peripheral cities,” stated Tozer. “We’d really like to be able to broaden the demographics of people who participate in this race,” she added.
With a strong vision for not only her own future but also that of the race, no doubt Tozer will be hitting the racetrack for years to come.