TORONTO — Jen Cohen-Wallace was at African Lion Safari with her son Tyler and husband Eric Cohen when she got the call.

Normally she doesn’t answer phone calls when she doesn’t recognize the number, but this time she had a strange feeling she should.

She picked up the phone, and at the other end of the line was Anna Lopes, founder of Million Dollar Smiles (MDS), calling to say her family had been approved and she should expect a team of volunteers at their house in a week or so to build a play structure in her backyard.

“I honestly felt like we won the lottery,” Cohen-Wallace said.

Tyler is pretty happy, too, and proud of his very own personal play area. The four-year-old eagerly shows visitors his treehouse, with its spyglass on top where he can pretend to be a pirate. He’s happy to demonstrate the operation of the slide and to show off a room at the bottom of the structure where he can entertain guests.

A few weeks ago, there was no such play area in his backyard, so he’d have to go to the playgrounds in community centres and schools to enjoy the same adventures. The trouble is, Tyler suffers from Loeys-Dietz Syndrome, a rare connective tissue disorder that affects most of his systems – cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal.

He’s had nine major operations, including open-heart and orthopedic surgeries, and he’s undergone numerous CT and MRI scans that require sedation. Between Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children, there are 16 doctors who look after him, Cohen-Wallace said.

Going to a public playground has always been problematic. Tyler is prone to aneurysms, so the regular bumps and jostling children normally experience when playing can lead to an emergency. That means Cohen-Wallace must hover nearby to make sure her son stays safe. It’s stressful for both of them, she said.

When Cohen-Wallace saw a reference on the Parent Advisory Link Facebook group to Million Dollar Smiles, she looked into it. It turned out that the work MDS does suits Tyler and his family to a T.

According to its mission statement, MDS “is a non-profit organization that provides support for families with children facing adversity from life-threatening illnesses. This is accomplished through a wide range of fundraising campaigns that enables MDS to fund gift-giving and special events targeted to children up to the age of 18.”

Lopes said MDS is helping 52 youngsters this year, including Tyler, up from 38 in 2014. Corporate sponsors love it because “it’s a personal touch. It’s a community service event and it provides team-building,” she said.

In Tyler’s case, Rogers Communications paid for the play structure and recruited volunteer builders, Lopes said.

A couple of weekends ago, 20 to 25 people arrived in Tyler’s backyard at 9 a.m. By 2:30 the work was done. 

“I was amazed at how organized everything was,” Cohen-Wallace said.

To make the event more meaningful, MDS asks that the youngster view it for the first time after it’s built as a surprise, she continued. So Tyler’s aunt took him out for the morning. Near the end of his excursion, he fell asleep in a mall racer at Yorkdale and arrived home a little cranky. When he saw all the people at his house, it was a little overwhelming, so he was more shocked than surprised.

After most of the guests left, Tyler felt comfortable enough to explore his new personal playground.

“It’s unbelievable what a difference it’s made for him,” said Eric. “He plays there every day. He could spend the whole day there. He really loves it.”

It’s more than just the fun, though, Eric added. Tyler has had an operation on his legs and having a playground in the backyard allows him to exercise his legs, climb and walk.

“He loves it,” Cohen-Wallace said. “He gets to be just a typical child. He gets to run around, play and experiment and not have us hovering around him so much.”

For her and Eric, “each day is a blessing. We’ve learned to roll with the punches and not worry about what could happen. If you do, you miss out on all the amazing milestones he’s accomplished. As an infant, doctors said he’s never likely to walk. Now he does.”