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Dee's Fight

"You never really know your own strength until you are faced with a problem you can't fix"

You'll find this quote on Dee's Facebook page; little did she know it was secretly preparing her for the fight of her life. Dee's strength has never been questioned.  Her determination and passion is a force to be reckoned with. The CEO and Founder of Halo Team Inc. has a battle on her hands and she needs our help. Dee has spent the last 15 years dedicating her life to other people, and even now during the fight of her life she is still dedicated to her community and the people who need her.

January 2019: Dee received the mind numbing news that she had triple negative high grade invasive ductal carcinoma; in short Breast Cancer. Two days later her husband was told that the company he had been working with for the last 13 years was merging and he was going to loose his job. As the company was under 15 employees there was no redundancy payments or anything to help the family. Together they quickly sold as much as they could of their own personal items to help with the costs of upcoming bills and treatments. With everything going on the family were struggling to process.

February 2019: Dee started a high dose of heavy chemo where treatments were done every two weeks. This made her very ill and stopped her in her tracks. She lost her hair within the first two treatments and struggled to go outside due to the sensitivity to the sun.  She had four very intensive treatments and by the end of it she ended up in hospital with damage to her stomach bowels and intestines. With all of this they decided to move on to her next treatment.

May 2019: Dee underwent surgery to remove both her breasts, a bilateral double mastectomy. It was during this operation that they found that Dee's cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. When Dee awoke from her surgery she was notified of this find. She spent a week in hospital with pain so extreme that she struggled to find the energy to walk. Her daughter spent everyday with her from sunrise to sundown there to keep her mum occupied. 

June 2019: Dee started another round of chemo this one with weekly doses. Her hair once again started to fall out and she began to get sick again. The doctors had asked that she do 12 rounds but by round seven the side effects were so extreme that they decided to stop her treatment. Dee received neuropathy from this round in her hands and feet and has now been told that this will more than likely be permanent. She now can no longer walk distances without being in severe pain and is constantly loosing her grip when holding things. This treatment once again took more from her.

August 2019: Dee had an appointment with her oncologist to discuss her options as she was no longer able to continue her chemotherapy treatments. This was a very full on and confronting appointment as Dee was told that the next time she sees her oncologist she would infact be terminal. They have stated that its important for Dee to have the quality of life and if they continue her chemo that quality would decline. They also told Dee that they will not need to do any tests because she will know when it back. She will loose weight and get sick. they told her it is at this point that they will then do a scan. They told her when it comes back she will immediately be classed terminal due to the aggressiveness of this type. All of this was very hard for Dee to hear and even harder for her to try to process. The doctor referred Dee to another specialist to apply to enter a trial for immunotherapy, sadly she was rejected for this trial. 

October 2019: After the doctors had decided to stop Dee's chemo, she was then referred forward to the next treatment within her plan... Radiation, and this is where she is at right now. Dee is currently receiving her radiation treatment and is expected finish up on 11/11/19. Who knows what will be next after this is done but one thing we know is a reconstructive surgery to hopefully provide Dee with something that this horrible disease has taken from her.

This is no short feat for anyone, yet alone a mother of four beautiful children.
No one should ever have to face this news and what makes this more heart breaking is that Dee is now trying her hardest to create beautiful memories with her family and tick off things on her bucket list. She is now trying to find ways to help her family create a future together filled with good times in the fear that her life will be cut short. She is trying to remove the struggles of financial strain by seeking help for her family. Each day she wakes with a positive attitude and tells herself that today she is a survivor. 

Dee's husband has also been unable to return to work as Dee has required him to help her with things due to her neuropathy and other things. Dee struggles to drive at times as she cannot deal with brightness and her reaction times are limited. She sometimes struggles to just open a bottle of water. It is unsure how long Dee will need his help, but for now its imperative to her care.

For years Dee has relentlessly dedicated her life to helping the homeless and people in need. Her ability to embrace every individual with respect and dignity regardless of their need, appearance or struggle is a true testament to her character. Dee is an inspiration to her family, her team, the community as well as other local agencies.  Our hope is that this platform will reach all the people in the Peel Region and beyond who have been touched by our angel in one way or another.

We encourage you to share, email and distribute this campaign with the sole aim to ease the financial burden during this time. These funds are in no way connected to the Halo Team Inc. organisation. All funds will go directly to Dee and her family. Funds will be used to help the family ease the financial pressures and to create beautiful memories together.

Thank you for your time and support. We know that this will change their lives and for this we are forever grateful.  Love the Halo Team Angels

xx
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Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $20 
    • 4 yrs
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Fundraising team: The Angels (2)

Tanya Swayn
Organizer
Falcon WA
Cassie Watkins
Team member

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