Eff Cancer - Supporting the Burnell-Higgs Family

Andrea Mackintosh is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Russell Burnell-Higgs.

Donation protected

Passionate, creative, caring, and authentic. This was Laura. As a mother, wife, artisan, and active member of the community her capacity for love was unyielding, and she always approached life full of kindness and empathy.

On July 31, 2021, Laura’s life was turned upside down. She went to the hospital with an intense cramp in her leg. A week later, numerous tests including a biopsy of her lymph node and a proper examination of a misdiagnosed “mole” on her heel led to a diagnosis that changed everything. She had cancer. It was stage IV metastatic melanoma which had spread through her lymph system to her lungs, liver, and bones.

As the cancer was advanced and aggressive, treatment was swift and immunotherapy was the only option available. Unfortunately, her body did not respond well to this treatment. On Sunday, September 12th, 2021, Laura succumbed to complications from the therapy and the cancer itself.

Laura’s business, Oh! The Post!, was birthed out of her love for collecting postage stamps, a hobby she shared with her late grandfather. She sourced used and vintage postage stamps and repurposed them into one-of-a-kind jewellery. Her business was built on her love for intricate designs, art in the form of postage stamps, and her nerdy and beautiful knowledge of the countries and cultures of the world. For Laura, her business was very personal. She took great pride in creating each of her jewellery pieces, and built a business that could fulfil her love for postage stamps and her desire to interact with her customers and the community. She had been attending the Kelowna Farmers’ and Crafters’ Market twice weekly for seven years, where she was known by many other vendors as their first friend at the market. She was always the first to reach out and introduce herself to new vendors, ensuring that they felt welcome and included in the market family. Her influence was positive and enduring.

Laura’s 5-year-old daughter, Adelaide, was the light of her life. Being self-employed and working primarily from home allowed Laura to spend the majority of her time with Adi and they enjoyed exploring life together. Whether celebrating national days , going to Momo sushi for lunch, sorting stamps, and walking to the post box to mail jewelry, they were a mother-daughter team and the bond they shared was powerful.

Right now, we are looking to help ease this time of financial uncertainty for the Burnell-Higgs family. The costs of having life turned upside down is ever changing and growing.

At this point, donations collected for the family will help ease the financial stress of being off work for extended periods, as well as the strain of knowing this will be a long journey for Russ and Adi as they navigate their new reality. Donations collected from this GoFundMe can be used to relieve the stress of monthly bills, mortgage payments, additional childcare, as well as any other unexpected expenses. Anything raised above and beyond these costs will go into an education savings fund for Adi’s future.

Laura was determined to share her story and emphasize the importance of early detection of melanoma. After her diagnosis, she started an Instagram account for anyone who wanted to follow her through this unscripted and unexpected chapter of her life. This was a place where she promised to keep it real. As she said in one of her posts, "It's not always comfortable, seeing the real. Especially in these days of curated, edited, carefully and strategically posted content." But this was Laura. She was as real and authentic as one can be, and you can see she was sharing honestly and truthfully throughout this process. Laura posted information about her treatments, procedures, and statistics about melanoma, and talked about the importance of being informed. She shared her feelings, thoughts, and her humour.

"The cancer bone's connected to the appetite bone and the appetite bone's connected to the nausea bone. The nausea bone's connected to the grumpy bitch bone and that’s how the world goes 'round." - Laura Burnell-Higgs

If you would like to catch up on Laura’s journey in this way, or looking for some connection to her story, we encourage you to visit her Instagram account effcancer

There are steps we can all take in prevention and early detection of melanoma. If something feels or looks "off", get it checked! Listen to your body and look for its signs. Your body will tell you what’s happening, you just have to listen. It’s also important to advocate for yourself. Misdiagnosis can happen, so seek a second opinion if you feel unsure,

It’s apparent from the community response just how loved Laura was by so many people. We thank you for your support as we grieve this immeasurable loss and attempt to return to some sense of normalcy.