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As Hazen begins end-of-life care, we’re rallying around this incredible family to make the months ahead as peaceful, connected, and gentle as possible without the crushing weight of financial stress.
Five years ago, in the middle of the pandemic and during his wife’s first pregnancy, Hazen’s life changed forever when he was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour. Since then, he’s faced multiple rounds of chemotherapy and surgeries, countless hospital visits, and an exhausting fight.
Our friend Hazen has met this immense challenge with remarkable strength and humour, still finding time to enjoy his friends, his family, and his love of photography. Through every moment, his wife Averill has been an unwavering caregiver and steady presence for him and their young son Ambrose.
In 2022, life brought another challenge when Averill was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, leaving her unable to return to work. For five years, Hazen’s disability benefits have been the family’s sole income and have been stretched thin to cover all the logistics of treatments, care, and daily needs. And now we must make a plan for how to say goodbye and make Hazen's last months as comfortable and full of love as possible.
How your support will help:
- Basic needs & accessibility ($20,000): Household mobility and wheelchair supports, meals and bills, medical and care supplies, and other care and accessibility supports not fully funded by the government.
- Connection & saying goodbye ($10,000): Helping friends and family visit, funeral planning, developing Hazen’s film collection, creating memories and a memorial photobook, and appreciating moments of joy together.
- A small buffer for the future ($10,000): Giving Averill and Ambrose some breathing room as they navigate unimaginable loss, including grief support and dance classes for Ambrose.
The love and generosity of this community have sustained Hazen’s family through so many difficult years.
- If you’ve followed their story or been touched by their warmth and humour, please consider supporting them once more, whether through a donation, a kind word, or by sharing this page.
- Every contribution, no matter the size, makes these final months a little less heavy and reminds them that they’re not alone. Notes, messages and memories shared to this page are appreciated greatly by the family.
Thank you for helping us share their story and surround them with care, dignity, and compassion in their final months together.
Organizer and beneficiary
Averill Smith
Beneficiary