Andrew Mercier was diagnosed with leukemia two days before his 10th birthday. This came as a surprise to his family and friends, as he had always been an energetic, adventurous, and active kid. Andrew was an avid Lego builder and loved biking, snowboarding, and playing with his neighborhood friends. He was known to many as the class clown and thoroughly enjoyed that title. Andrew loved making people laugh, creating his own jokes and playing practical jokes on whoever he could. He was smart and enjoyed showing off what he learned in school.
Throughout Andrew’s battle, he rarely complained. He took every poke, every pill, and every procedure like a true warrior. He sometimes got frustrated and would ask, “why me?” but he never let it pull him down for too long. He loved to joke with his nurses and doctors and loved it when they joked back. He binge watched SpongeBob and must have seen every single episode during his hospital stays. He loved Stranger Things and watched all three seasons multiple times. He went to The Great Room in the hospital to craft new things to display in his room. He was so proud of his crafts and showed everyone what he made.
Sadly, Andrew didn’t make it to his next birthday. His cancer was an extremely rare type of leukemia. His doctors have told us only twelve cases of this specific type of cancer have been documented worldwide. Andrew fought hard, fought gracefully, and was an amazing source of smiles and laughter until the end. Andrew passed away on December 15, 2019.
During Andrew’s hospitalization, he was given a “farting unicorn” that he named Dookie. Dookie was a large, stuffed unicorn with a remote-controlled fart machine sewn inside. Andrew would hide the remote under his sheets and hit the button to catch his unsuspecting victims off guard. Andrew found such joy in making others laugh and Dookie was a great source of laughter for him.
To carry on his love of laughter and practical jokes, Andrew’s Laughing Gas was founded. Our goal is to give every child fighting this awful disease a reason to smile, laugh, and just be a kid. ALG provides special stuffed animals that, like Dookie, remotely “toot” to spread Andrew’s laughter to others. Since its inception, ALG has provided over 6,000 animals to children battling cancer. We know Andrew would love to know that his legacy is bringing laughter to other children.
