Another Bison Driver shared this story concerning his great-niece, Lakelei. Lakelei was born 3 weeks premature and spent her early days in an ICU in Saskatoon. It was determined Lakelei had been born with allergies and digestive issues and could only tolerate and thrive on one particular formula. All was well until late September when a change in government policy temporarily made the formula commercially unavailable in Canada. When they ran out of formula to feed her, Lakelei began getting sick from the alternatives and was dropping weight. She was dropping almost an ounce a day, which was brutal for a baby that was less than 14 lbs. 

This Bison Driver's brother-in-law asked if he knew any Cross-Border drivers that could help get the formula on an emergency basis from the US. Which led him to reach out to Simon Waters to explain the situation they were faced with. Simon immediately agreed to help in any way he could. After much research with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), it was discovered that there were no restrictions on bringing the formula into Canada in personal quantities, just commercial quantities. Within 3 hours, Simon had a plan and the answers needed from CBSA regarding allowed quantities. 

From that point on, the wheels (literally) started rolling. Simon reached out to other drivers he knew to coordinate purchasing this formula. You can only buy 6 bottles at a time, so Simon and another driver went to many Walmart stores - Helena, Great Falls, St George, Cedar City, and Billings to name a few. Between Simon and this other driver, they were able to secure 60 bottles, which is enough to last for two months. Simon alone spent $700 out of his pocket to get this formula, before being reimbursed by the family. The formula was transported to Saskatoon and made it to Lakelei and her family. Simon said that he would gladly do it again if it turns out they need more as the formula is still not available in Canada currently. 

Simon responded with “this is what Truck Drivers did years ago.”

A big thank you to everyone involved and willing to help this family.