Helping Dave & Sonya Wilson and Family
Donation protected
Like most, 2020 was a tough and challenging year. For David and Sonya Wilson, and their young family, life was settling down and they were grateful to finally be putting things back together. After five long months working away on a pipeline project, Dave was returning home for a much needed Christmas visit. Things were really looking up - they were catching up financially, their dream for their small farm and youth equestrian center was finally taking shape and they were all going to be together for the holiday.
Then their lives took a devastating turn. On December 21, Dave took his two young twins, age 7, out to shop for Sonya, their mom. They got a drive through breakfast and were on their way to another store when Dave felt his right leg start to go numb. He quickly pulled off onto a side road and got out to try and walk it off. Nervous and quickly becoming confused, he called his wife at home and asked her to come get him. Alarmed, she started out the door and asked where he was.
That was when the twins began to scream in terror. They were witnessing their big strong dad have a grand mal seizure as he was leaning into the driver's side of his truck, trying to keep himself upright. Sonya listened in horror as they witnessed their father shake, fall to the pavement and lose consciousness.
"Daddy is sleeping!" and "I can't wake him up!" were just some of the screams she could make out. as the children watched helplessly. With no idea which direction to go, Sonya tried to calm her kids, process what she was witnessing, and to find some clue to where they might be.
Their son, Cooper, stood watch over his father after running to a closed law office and relaying the building number to his mom; a brave, thoughtful act for a scared little boy. But with no street reference, of little use to his frantic mom. Miya began to run, heading towards the busy street and flagging down cars. "I thought she had been abducted," said one woman who stopped to assist, "I've never seen such terror on a child's face."
Thankfully once adults were on the scene, Sonya was able to find her family, and soon after, an ambulance arrived. As Dave slowly regained consciousness, he was loaded up and taken to the hospital. Everyone thought he had had some kind of heart attack or stroke at first, and while those scenarios are serious, they were nothing compared to his diagnosis.
The hospital did a CT scan and within hours reported that Dave had a brain tumor. While often tumors can be easily removed, or simply not an emergency, Dave's tumor is proving to be more serious than most.
With anti-seizure meds and follow up appointments booked, Dave returned home to enjoy a beautiful Christmas holiday, even with the cloud of wondering and waiting over the whole family. The twins, while resilient and tough, became withdrawn and clingy all at once, scared of things they'd never been scared of. Cooper tried to stop eating so he wouldn't grow up, because "if I'm a man I will have a seizure and it was really scary", and Miya began wearing her father's Stanfield work shirt every day, even to bed.
On January 14, Dave's neurosurgeon performed a biopsy to determine the grade of his tumor in Vancouver - after recovering from surgery, he was discharged and made his way back to Fort St John.
Although the family was hopeful, Dave was again rushed to hospital on January 20 with yet another seizure. His wife, Sonya, was permitted into the room with him, whispered words of comfort and held him while the team worked to stop the seizure and more possible damage. As he lay in the ER bed recovering, she received the call from the neurologist.
Dave has been diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma. The most aggress form of brain cancer, and also the most lethal. That evening, after Dave had recovered from the trauma of yet another seizure, Sonya told him the news.
At this point the family has only one choice. To buy time for Dave to get treatment - hoping desperately to slow down the cancer and give their three children more time with their father. Dave has worked tirelessly on the pipelines, leaving home for weeks at a time to build a future for his family. He is working on the last job of his career as the environmental lead for the Transmountain Pipeline; he is at the peak of his career, a man who cares about his team and takes immense pride in his job. Returning, although he is determined to try, is not a possibility.
Sonya and the kids had settled in Fort St John, waiting for her husband to return home every few weeks. The family invested all their savings it in a small acreage with an indoor arena and began to build a retirement life for themselves by operating a teaching and healing equestrian center. Covid hit at the worst time, but the family continued to pursue their dream, working with those in need, giving anything they could to those who needed food, shelter, support or connection.
The family has had a tremendous impact on their community, while building their dream of bringing Dave home to share in the raising of the children. If you've ever been out to their farm, you'd see everyone there with a smile, welcoming arms and an adventure to share. They've rescued horses, found kids who wanted to 'adopt' them, and created magic for hundreds of children and adults through summer camps, riding programs and family farm days. Everything they do seems to be about giving, healing, connecting.
Now the family needs their community. David is suffering from constant headaches, ongoing seizures, and the knowledge that he is fighting not for his life, but for time with his wife and children. It falls on Sonya to keep the arena operating, scheduling lessons, teaching whenever she can get away from the house, tending to the horses and financially supporting the family while Dave endures a future of chemotherapy and radiation, all on the lower mainland. All this while dealing with losing the love of her life, helping guide their children through losing their father, and being a steadfast partner for Dave as he fights to beat the odds and help raise the kids for as long as possible. The children, Miya and Cooper, who are 7, and Brogan, who is 9, are already traumatized by their father's seizures, pain and hospital stays, and are doing their best to understand and process what is happening to their world. They need as much time with him and their mom as possible as they make this unbearable and confusing journey.
Dave, a strong, kind man is unable at this time to work, and is dealing with the impact of a crippling, painful future with no light at the end for him or his wife and kids. He has given his life to supporting his family, his community and those who needed anything. There has never been a time when the family did not have someone in need living in their home alongside them; from family to total strangers trying to find safety in the world. They were excited about becoming foster parents, believing that sharing their home and horses was a gift that many children deserved to have.
Everything these people have known is changing at a rate that is hard to comprehend.
It is our wish that we can ease this family's stress and help improve Dave's timeline as they all struggle minute by minute to process this new reality. While dozens of people in the community have already stepped up to help with chores, meals and incredible support, they risk losing more than their father and husband while trying to reformulate their income and costs in the near future. If you can help in any way, please know that your contribution will not only help this family but will support keeping Dave's legacy alive, not only for his children, but for thousands in years to come.
Thank you from the Wilson family
Then their lives took a devastating turn. On December 21, Dave took his two young twins, age 7, out to shop for Sonya, their mom. They got a drive through breakfast and were on their way to another store when Dave felt his right leg start to go numb. He quickly pulled off onto a side road and got out to try and walk it off. Nervous and quickly becoming confused, he called his wife at home and asked her to come get him. Alarmed, she started out the door and asked where he was.
That was when the twins began to scream in terror. They were witnessing their big strong dad have a grand mal seizure as he was leaning into the driver's side of his truck, trying to keep himself upright. Sonya listened in horror as they witnessed their father shake, fall to the pavement and lose consciousness.
"Daddy is sleeping!" and "I can't wake him up!" were just some of the screams she could make out. as the children watched helplessly. With no idea which direction to go, Sonya tried to calm her kids, process what she was witnessing, and to find some clue to where they might be.
Their son, Cooper, stood watch over his father after running to a closed law office and relaying the building number to his mom; a brave, thoughtful act for a scared little boy. But with no street reference, of little use to his frantic mom. Miya began to run, heading towards the busy street and flagging down cars. "I thought she had been abducted," said one woman who stopped to assist, "I've never seen such terror on a child's face."
Thankfully once adults were on the scene, Sonya was able to find her family, and soon after, an ambulance arrived. As Dave slowly regained consciousness, he was loaded up and taken to the hospital. Everyone thought he had had some kind of heart attack or stroke at first, and while those scenarios are serious, they were nothing compared to his diagnosis.
The hospital did a CT scan and within hours reported that Dave had a brain tumor. While often tumors can be easily removed, or simply not an emergency, Dave's tumor is proving to be more serious than most.
With anti-seizure meds and follow up appointments booked, Dave returned home to enjoy a beautiful Christmas holiday, even with the cloud of wondering and waiting over the whole family. The twins, while resilient and tough, became withdrawn and clingy all at once, scared of things they'd never been scared of. Cooper tried to stop eating so he wouldn't grow up, because "if I'm a man I will have a seizure and it was really scary", and Miya began wearing her father's Stanfield work shirt every day, even to bed.
On January 14, Dave's neurosurgeon performed a biopsy to determine the grade of his tumor in Vancouver - after recovering from surgery, he was discharged and made his way back to Fort St John.
Although the family was hopeful, Dave was again rushed to hospital on January 20 with yet another seizure. His wife, Sonya, was permitted into the room with him, whispered words of comfort and held him while the team worked to stop the seizure and more possible damage. As he lay in the ER bed recovering, she received the call from the neurologist.
Dave has been diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma. The most aggress form of brain cancer, and also the most lethal. That evening, after Dave had recovered from the trauma of yet another seizure, Sonya told him the news.
At this point the family has only one choice. To buy time for Dave to get treatment - hoping desperately to slow down the cancer and give their three children more time with their father. Dave has worked tirelessly on the pipelines, leaving home for weeks at a time to build a future for his family. He is working on the last job of his career as the environmental lead for the Transmountain Pipeline; he is at the peak of his career, a man who cares about his team and takes immense pride in his job. Returning, although he is determined to try, is not a possibility.
Sonya and the kids had settled in Fort St John, waiting for her husband to return home every few weeks. The family invested all their savings it in a small acreage with an indoor arena and began to build a retirement life for themselves by operating a teaching and healing equestrian center. Covid hit at the worst time, but the family continued to pursue their dream, working with those in need, giving anything they could to those who needed food, shelter, support or connection.
The family has had a tremendous impact on their community, while building their dream of bringing Dave home to share in the raising of the children. If you've ever been out to their farm, you'd see everyone there with a smile, welcoming arms and an adventure to share. They've rescued horses, found kids who wanted to 'adopt' them, and created magic for hundreds of children and adults through summer camps, riding programs and family farm days. Everything they do seems to be about giving, healing, connecting.
Now the family needs their community. David is suffering from constant headaches, ongoing seizures, and the knowledge that he is fighting not for his life, but for time with his wife and children. It falls on Sonya to keep the arena operating, scheduling lessons, teaching whenever she can get away from the house, tending to the horses and financially supporting the family while Dave endures a future of chemotherapy and radiation, all on the lower mainland. All this while dealing with losing the love of her life, helping guide their children through losing their father, and being a steadfast partner for Dave as he fights to beat the odds and help raise the kids for as long as possible. The children, Miya and Cooper, who are 7, and Brogan, who is 9, are already traumatized by their father's seizures, pain and hospital stays, and are doing their best to understand and process what is happening to their world. They need as much time with him and their mom as possible as they make this unbearable and confusing journey.
Dave, a strong, kind man is unable at this time to work, and is dealing with the impact of a crippling, painful future with no light at the end for him or his wife and kids. He has given his life to supporting his family, his community and those who needed anything. There has never been a time when the family did not have someone in need living in their home alongside them; from family to total strangers trying to find safety in the world. They were excited about becoming foster parents, believing that sharing their home and horses was a gift that many children deserved to have.
Everything these people have known is changing at a rate that is hard to comprehend.
It is our wish that we can ease this family's stress and help improve Dave's timeline as they all struggle minute by minute to process this new reality. While dozens of people in the community have already stepped up to help with chores, meals and incredible support, they risk losing more than their father and husband while trying to reformulate their income and costs in the near future. If you can help in any way, please know that your contribution will not only help this family but will support keeping Dave's legacy alive, not only for his children, but for thousands in years to come.
Thank you from the Wilson family
Co-organizers (2)
Jordan Becker
Organizer
Fort St. John, BC
Sonya Wilson
Beneficiary
Jenna Becker
Co-organizer