Support Rachel's fight against stage 4 Cancer
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It's probably fair to say that 2020 has been the furthest thing from a normal year for anyone, and one most people would choose to forget. For Rachel, my sister, there are a couple key moments in her life that 2020 has marked. First was the birth of her daughter, Presley, at 13 weeks premature, to now being faced with one of the hardest fights of her life - battling stage 4 Colon cancer.
After the birth of Presley, the bulk of Rachel's days were devoted to hospital visits ensuring that she was bonding with her baby and there to see that she was reaching the important milestones so she could be taken home, as well as continuing to meet the needs of her 13 year old daughter, Sam.
Looking back, leading up to her diagnosis, she had experienced a loss of appetite which she attributed to long days in the NICU with Presley. A week after Presley was finally home, Rachel was faced with severe abdominal cramps which resulted in emergency surgery for a ruptured ulcer. During the surgery, it was discovered that there was no ulcer but instead cancer in her colon, liver and surrounding lymph nodes.
Rachel has an appointment with the Oncologist on November 24th to ascertain her available treatment options. We are hopeful that this appointment will shed more light on what the future has in store after her initial prognosis of 6 months without treatment and 2 years with treatment.
Given the fact that Rachel is unable to work with a newborn and now the cancer, her spouse Nathan has opted to take paternity leave to help support her through this journey. This is naturally going to place a financial burden upon them. We would like to ensure they have the means to pursue any course of treatment that will give her the best shot of survival, not covered under AHS. All finances raised will also be used to offset any deficits they may experience through mortgage payments and other monthly expenses.
Since moving to Canada, Rachel discovered her new found passion of coaching people to a healthier, more active lifestyle, as a personal trainer. While this news comes as a shock to us all, we still remain hopeful that she can overcome this and channel that same focus and energy that she has applied to other peoples lives, to her own personal recovery, and one day return to the job that she loves!
Rachel has leaned on this verse of scripture through many of her past hardships.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13
As a family, we appreciate all prayer and emotional support as we look for strength to be there as her support system. We would also like to thank you for taking the time to learn about Rachel's story and your consideration in supporting her through this journey.
After the birth of Presley, the bulk of Rachel's days were devoted to hospital visits ensuring that she was bonding with her baby and there to see that she was reaching the important milestones so she could be taken home, as well as continuing to meet the needs of her 13 year old daughter, Sam.
Looking back, leading up to her diagnosis, she had experienced a loss of appetite which she attributed to long days in the NICU with Presley. A week after Presley was finally home, Rachel was faced with severe abdominal cramps which resulted in emergency surgery for a ruptured ulcer. During the surgery, it was discovered that there was no ulcer but instead cancer in her colon, liver and surrounding lymph nodes.
Rachel has an appointment with the Oncologist on November 24th to ascertain her available treatment options. We are hopeful that this appointment will shed more light on what the future has in store after her initial prognosis of 6 months without treatment and 2 years with treatment.
Given the fact that Rachel is unable to work with a newborn and now the cancer, her spouse Nathan has opted to take paternity leave to help support her through this journey. This is naturally going to place a financial burden upon them. We would like to ensure they have the means to pursue any course of treatment that will give her the best shot of survival, not covered under AHS. All finances raised will also be used to offset any deficits they may experience through mortgage payments and other monthly expenses.
Since moving to Canada, Rachel discovered her new found passion of coaching people to a healthier, more active lifestyle, as a personal trainer. While this news comes as a shock to us all, we still remain hopeful that she can overcome this and channel that same focus and energy that she has applied to other peoples lives, to her own personal recovery, and one day return to the job that she loves!
Rachel has leaned on this verse of scripture through many of her past hardships.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13
As a family, we appreciate all prayer and emotional support as we look for strength to be there as her support system. We would also like to thank you for taking the time to learn about Rachel's story and your consideration in supporting her through this journey.
Organizer
Simon McGibbon
Organizer
Sherwood Park, AB
