Jonathan Pitre, the Ottawa teenager affectionately known as ‘Butterfly Boy,’ has passed away. He was 17 years old.
Pitre, a huge Senators fan, suffered from a rare skin condition that caused his skin to resemble that of a butterfly.
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Pitre died in hospital in Minnesota on Wednesday evening. His mother, Tina Boileau, informed TSN’s James Duthie on Thursday morning to break the news that her son had passed. Duthie shared the tragic news on an Instagram post.
“Jonathan was the most courageous young man I’ve ever met,” Duthie wrote on Instagram with a lovely picture of he and Jonathan. “He had the toughest life imaginable, and yet always saw the positive in it…always found hope through endless pain. His disease gave him a purpose…to help educate, and help other kids with EB. This is my favourite pic with Jonny. It was the first night I met him in person. We had heard he wanted to be a sportscaster, so he came down to TSN and joined the panel for a night. And he was a natural. Jonny was an old soul. So smart, so kind, so brave. He loved sports, loved The Flash, loved reading, especially science fiction, adored his dog Gibson. Keep his incredible Mom Tina and the rest of his family in your hearts.” source
Pitre was born with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a painful and incurable genetic disorder that caused his delicate skin to easily tear and blister.