TOP 10 OF 2018: #2 Jonathan Pitre passes away
Posted Dec 30, 2018 02:00:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Jonathan Pitre was a 17-year-old, known as the Butterfly Child and an inspiring young man who suffered from EB, who died on April 4 due to complications from septic shock.
He was admitted to hospital on March 30 after spiking a fever. He had been battling an antibiotic-resistant skin infection for three weeks previous to that.
Pitre inspired many throughout his life, including his doctor.
Although she said she wasn't sure what she would do upon Pitre's passing, his mother Tina Boileau has been kept busy, as local organizations have continued to honour the Butterfly Child. She handed out an award, named after Pitre, for the hardest working player at the Ottawa Senators development camp. Boileau was also seen at the Ottawa Redblacks home opener in June, as the team honoured Pitre at the game as a community hero.
Boileau has also been working to get a book published, and in the midst of all of that, she was also thinking of creating a community butterfly garden in her son's honour.
“I've had some outreach from landscapers ready to donate whatever they can and build it for me, so I know [the idea is] there, but being able to organize everything is very challenging,” Boileau told Ottawa Today with Mark Sutcliffe on 1310 NEWS back in May.
Boileau explained that she would like the garden to be built in Ottawa, and mentioned that there has been word of a school being named or re-named after Pitre.
“So maybe [it could be built] close to the school,” she said. “That would be a great place for the kids to be able to go and I'd like it to be a community thing — somewhere people can go and admire the beauty of it and have a zen moment.”
Mayor Jim Watson said the young man's life deserves to be recognized, as his struggle and the positive outlook he kept throughout years of hospital visits served as inspiration to millions.
The City of Ottawa is still expected to honour the legacy of Pitre.
