Support Cathy Parkes

Invermere local, valued employee, wife, mom&grandma, Cathy Parkes was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in february of this year.

Her medical team hit hard, and fast, with a mastectomy in the spring followed by intense rounds of chemotherapy ending this past week. Up until now, all of Cathy’s surgery and treatments have been relatively close to home at Cranbrook hospital, and while very ill she has been able to remain at home between treatments.  An added side effect Cathy has had to deal with since the second round of chemo is Neutropenia, abnormally low levels of neutrophils in the blood supply.  Neutrophils are an important type of white blood cell, vital for fighting off pathogens & in particular bacterial infections. Neutrophils are short- lived cells made in the bone marrow that travel extensively throughout the body and can enter tissues other cells cannot. Neutropenia is a condition developed due to chemotherapy whereby the drugs involved destroy these cells along with the cancer cells.  The solution was a daily (very expensive!) injection to quite literally keep her alive (and boost her bone marrow /neutrophil / white blood cell count).

Because many lymph nodes were also shown to be cancerous, it has recently been decided she must go to Kelowna for 16 rounds of radiation.  On October 2 and 3, Cathy and her husband Steve Fitch (employed as a roaster at Kicking Horse Coffee) are traveling to Kelowna to meet with an oncologist who will then shed some light on the upcoming treatments, which at this point we only know begin October 16th and last several weeks.   Out of pocket costs for this include hotel/lodging (of which patient rates exist at approximately $75 per night), meals , and gas of course. I think a conservative guess is at least $5k for a month worth of hotel, food and gas PLUS lost wages.  it’s significant.

 

Steve has used all of his holidays (to be with Cathy for Chemo and travel to cranbrook hospital) at Kicking Horse Coffee and has been offered unpaid leave as required to be with her.  Cathy's only source of income has been art & art reproduction sales from my shop and 2 other local galleries, which is minimal considering she has been too ill to maintain stock throughout the summer.

Myself and Black Star gallery have waived commissions on her sales to help out since March, and have recently launched a social media campaign to help boost her art sales as she heads for Kelowna.  We are offering a new limited edition reproduction of her painting Heart of the Rockies, in a triptych form for $250. Other prints range from $20 to $100.

Print sales and  orders for Heart of the Rockies go until 5PM October 12th with hopes that we will have raised enough to cover at least some of the hotel and travel costs facing her October 16th. This Go Fund Me will run until the same date and we will pass along all funds to them as she begins Radiation.

 
Cathy’s proud. She’s a fighter.  She’s always the one to offer help, never the one to ask.  And now she needs help.  And while I hope her art sales are strong, I’m worried it isn’t enough for someone who’s been unable to work the past 6 months.  It sounds like, even if radiation is successful she will not be able to return to work until quite possibly February.  A whole year.  

Let's show Cathy our love- any amount amount helps so she can get the treatment she needs and come home to heal- for more painting, camping in her boler, framing art projects and enjoying time with her family and grandson!