Our dear friend Minna needs help!

Our dear friend Minna needs help!

As most of you know, Minna has been struggling with pancreatic cancer since last January. She has received many chemotherapy treatments and has investigated alternative healing methods. Unfortunately, the tumour did not continue to shrink; surgery is the next step and the only option to eliminate it. She has been incredibly positive since the beginning of this journey and has kept up her humour and good spirits.

It has been an extremely tough decision for her to undergo this extensive and high-risk surgery, which is happening very soon, on November 24, 2023. We will all think of her and pray for her that day. Please send her your prayers and love.

She is very grateful to her son Otso and ex-partner Thor for accompanying her to Vancouver, where the surgery will occur. They will provide much-needed emotional support.

Minna needs a financial bridge while recovering from surgery and healing over the next several months. Healing from this kind of surgery can take up to 4 months or longer and she will not be able to work for an unknown period of time. Minna has exhausted all financial resources (personal and government funds) and needs our help.

While Minna has lots of emotional and physical support, she will definitely need some financial support from the larger community than her immediate friends.

Please donate to Minna, whether it is big or small – everything helps and will make a difference for her. She will be very grateful for anything.

Up-dates on her recovery will be provided.

November 29, 2023:

We would like to thank everyone for their prayers, support, and generous donations. Minna was very touched by all the generosity, and was surprised to even see donations from people she didn't recognize. Thank you so much; all of your donations are deeply appreciated.

Below is a little update how Minna's operation went and how she is feeling currently.

On Friday, after surgery started, which we expected to take 10 hours, we waited for news. And we waited, and waited, and waited. After 14 (!!) long and worrisome hours we finally found out that it was a very difficult procedure with complications. They cut into an artery, which needed to be clamped, and the surgeon could not continue that night. The good news was that he got all the cancer out.

Minna was to wait in ICU until she was stable enough for the team to continue the surgery. Finally on Sunday Minna's condition was good enough that the second surgery could take place. Thankfully this operation was shorter and the surgeon reported after about 6 hours that the surgery was a success!!

We were all soooo relieved and very happy about these news.

Thor and Otso are visiting Minna daily, and watching her gaining strength every day. Supposedly, she already had some physio visits and had to get out of bed and stand up briefly. Her fever is gone now as well, and she had her first solid meal today.

It looks like our warrior women is well on her way back to health. Go Minna go!!

December 20, 2023

Below is another update on Minna's recovery.

Due to a more complex surgery, Minna's recovery time at the hospital was accordingly longer. Minna's surgeon, and the team caring for her, had to ensure that her digestion was working properly and that her food intake was sufficient before she could be released. This was finally the case and she was able to come home on December 13, 2023. Minna is very happy to be back in her own cozy home and focusing on her recovery day by day. It's a big learning curve for her measuring blood sugar levels and adjusting insulin intake. She is still trying to figure out how to keep her blood sugar levels in check and live as a diabetic. Lots to learn....baby steps. Every day is different as her body is adjusting to the new way of being.