Imagine you're a five-year-old boy and you are given a three-minute shopping spree for all the toys you can grab.
It happened Tuesday at Barrie's Toys 'R' Us store in Park Place with the help of the Starlight Children's Foundation Canada.
Tyson, who has a rare heart defect, which led to a heart attack and stroke at three months old, won a contest through the charity and was allowed to bring his family to take part in the dash.
Parents Jessica and Johnnie, along with five-year-old Jane and three-year-old Malachi and baby Max, managed to fill seven shopping carts with everything from dinosaur figures and games to a bike and a picnic table.
With map in hand the family raced through the aisles from the front of the store to the back while store staff supplied new carts when required.
Johnnie, who himself was once a Starlight kid, said "it was fun, but not what we expected.
"Three minutes goes faster than you think," he added. "We got most everything on our list, but we missed batteries."
The adventure started a year go when the family happened to go the Toys 'R' Us grand opening and met mascot Captain Starlight, who suggested they register as a Starlight family. They entered a contest and wrote a story about an experience with the group and won the shopping spree.
"We help kids in and out of hospital to have special experiences, outings and great escapes," said Captain Starlight. "Not all children have the luxury of time so we try to make their life a happy place.
"This family has spent 107 straight days in hospital with Tyson, so this gives them some relief," Starlight added. "The children come in today saying want, want, want and when they leave they will have, have, have."
The Starlight Children's Foundation Canada will grant similar shopping sprees to 10 children across the country this year.
