We’ve created this fundraiser for Brittany Cardiff (Radford) who (as many of you know) has struggled with serious chronic illness since she was 18. Brittany is in The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus right now, and has been there for eight weeks. For the foreseeable future, she’s going to rely solely on a feeding tube to “eat”. This will be a very stressful and trying time, made worse by the financial burden the feeding tube supplies will bring. She’s currently not able to work in her medically fragile condition, so this will be a huge challenge. We would be so grateful for any contribution you could make to help Brittany. No donation is too small! 

Brittany Cardiff (Radford) was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis approximately 19 years ago. To save her life at that time, she had urgent emergency surgery to remove her entire colon (large intestine). Despite surgical intervention, Brittany has been continually plagued by poor health and frequent hospital admissions, sometimes for months at a time. Since then she has been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and undergone seven more extensive abdominal surgeries, but her health struggles persist. 

Recently she has been diagnosed with malabsorption and bowel failure. These disorders cause her remaining digestive system to fail to absorb crucial nutrients; severely impacting her iron, vitamin and mineral levels. Which in turn have effected her vital organs. The medical treatment for Brittany's condition required the insertion of a nasojejunal feeding tube that directly delivers nutrients to her small intestine. This solution may become a permanent requirement, necessitating yet another surgery.

What makes this already challenging situation even more distressing is that almost all of the essential medical supplies Brittany needs are not covered by our healthcare system. She relies on ileostomy supplies (not covered by OHIP), diabetes supplies (not covered by OHIP), and now a nutrient delivery system that includes pumps, tubing, attachments, bags for the liquid nutrition, carrying bags etc. We have estimated the initial cost of the necessary equipment to be around $3,000 with additional monthly expenses of approximately $1000 for the life-sustaining nutrient delivery. Unfortunately, Brittany is unable to work right now and lacks the income to cover these expenses that are not supported by our healthcare.

We are launching this GoFundMe to rally together and ensure that Brittany has access to the vital medical supplies and nutrients she urgently needs to maintain her health and well-being. Your donations will directly contribute to her quality of life and alleviate the financial strain on her shoulders. Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to our goal. Please consider making a donation to help Brittany in her battle against these ongoing health challenges.

Additionally, we kindly request that you share this campaign with your networks, spreading the word to reach as many compassionate individuals as possible.