Our beloved NVW needs help!

Hello to our friends, family, and helpers alike.

It's with heavy hearts that we share some news about our whip-smart wordsmith, The Queen of Poofing, the inimitable Nancy Verrall Warren.

The short of it is this:

Our dear mother, sister, friend, and wild adventurer, our Nancy, has just received an official diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. To add insult to injury, we've recently learned that she's been the victim of numerous relentless phishing scams since 2019, and that thanks to her scammers taking well over $200,000 from her, she has lost every penny she ever had.

She needs massive amounts of help, and we, her three kids, are waving our white flag on her behalf as we accept the gravity of this situation and the steep, uphill road ahead.

The long of it, for those who'd like to know:

Over the last few weeks, we've come to learn about this devastating, bewildering, and frankly enraging series of events and circumstances that have left our dear mom in an emergent crisis. As if her dementia diagnosis wasn’t enough of a blow, we’ve learned that Nancy has been actively and aggressively scammed for the past nearly three years. Due to her declining cognitive state and the internet being the perfect place for malicious activity, she fell prey to a slew of phishing scams that have ultimately robbed her of every penny she had.

This is not hyperbole. Her small frame is smaller still as she’s had no money to buy groceries, she’s had utilities cut off after repeated warnings gone ignored, and she’s in such legal and financial trouble that she’s in danger of losing her home. It kills us to tell you that she has been targeted so aggressively by her scammers that she has lost well over $200,000. These people have preyed upon her, they have broken into her bank accounts, and stolen everything from her — likely including her identity. We’re absolutely devastated to see our mom fall victim to such a thing when she’s in such a vulnerable place.

We've been working tirelessly to plug every hole we can find on this sinking ship. We are in touch with the RCMP and provincial police, as well as with numerous social and protective services. We're working with her banks to create safeguards against future phishing, we're monitoring her online activity, and she has consented to granting power of attorney so we can properly advocate for, protect, and care for her. We rest at ease knowing she’s being monitored by a team of health care professionals, and tended to by her incredible St. Stephen community of loved ones who are committed to ensuring her safety and wellbeing while the three of us siblings are so far away.

In the coming weeks, months, and beyond, we will continue our work toward implementing both immediate and long-term support to ensure that our mom is receiving the best care possible. This includes things like arranging grocery delivery and meals, cleaning services, and in-home care, since she can no longer drive. It also includes out-of-pocket medical expenses, and trying to make arrangements with multiple creditors and chipping away at the massive amount of debt she incurred due to being targeted and abused by her scammers.

Our hope is to raise enough funds to help soften the blow of all this — if such a thing is possible. Between her months and years of unpaid bills, her savings accounts drained, and her future uncertain, we humbly acknowledge the gravity of this situation and just how urgently our mom needs help.

The money you donate will go directly toward Nancy's unpaid bills, her utilities, groceries, and other living expenses, and the travel expenses necessary for us to get to her as we support her through the inevitable transitions that lay in her future.

We hate every part of this, truly. We wish there was no story to tell. Thank you to those of you who offer your help and support, and for loving our mama so well.

And if ever there was a time to lean into that love, it is now.

Thank you and peace,

Sandy, Ashley, and Jenessa