Meet my uncle Don Atkinson, a man who loves old Volkswagen cars, cold beer, the outdoors, gardening, fishing, his son, his daughter and his loving wife my Auntie Kerri.   In October, Don was experiencing severe pain in his upper body and did not feel like his usual self.  With the support of our family, Don went to receive diagnosis for his ailments in Nanaimo; the result was shocking: Multiple Myeloma (A blood cancer that affects the plasma cells in the bone marrow).  As you can imagine this has had a major effect on Don and his family's day to day life.

Many of us were shocked, but my Uncle said "No we are gonna kick Cancer to the curb!" The prognosis for this form of cancer however is rigorous and requires many rounds of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, stem cell transplant and many appointments with specialists and cancer professionals.  Living in Mid-Vancouver Island has its challenges already, Don and Kerri will have to make many trips to Victoria and Vancouver in the future.  

The biggest impact on Don's day to day life outside of his family life is cancer (for now) has taken away Don's biggest labor of love: working for Lordco and working on cars in his shop.  As many of you know, Don self-made himself into a master painter and autobody professional over the last 20 years.  The cancer has greatly impacted his ability to work and provide for the life he and his family enjoy.  

As a family we have come together to form #TeamDon and have asked our community of friends, family and all who know Don to donate as a gesture to help him and Kerri go through this journey together; our goal is $25,000 as treatment is expected to go well into 2020.  We are hoping to be able to achieve this goal by Christmas.

Travelling on and off Vancouver Island is already challenging, and together with the support of Don and Kerri. Together as #TeamDon we can help make a difference and fight back the life that this man has created for himself and his loved ones.  The funds will be going towards travel, day to day living, any medical costs (minimal if any in Canada) and peace of mind throughout the holidays. 

If you can, make sure you reach out to Don and Kerri to visit (Make sure you have your flu shot) and drop off a meal, groceries, a gas card or take Abby out to the playground at nearby Nanoose Elementary.  

I encourage you all as you donate to share a story with your friends about Don, there are many! Use the hashtag #TeamDon when you share this on whatever platform you use.  Consider also donating towards cancer charities this holiday season as well; its a gesture Don would also appreciate. 

Thank you everyone for reading Don's story! Please keep the Atkinson family in your prayers this holiday season and lets help Don kick cancer to the curb! 

#TeamDon