Allison's Journey: Love, Strength, and Hope

My name is Donna Anderson and I would like to share a story about my daughter, Allison McLean, who has been living with Multiple Sclerosis for the last 16 years and has recently been diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer.

As any parent would agree, watching your child suffer is never easy and being helpless to fix it is unbearable.

We are fortunate to have family and friends that will shower her with moral support and love. We are also thankful to live close to Boston where some of the best hospitals in the world, specializing in cancer treatments are located. Allison is now under the care of the doctors at Dana Farber-Cancer Center, whose sole focus is to provide excellent cancer care and individual ground breaking treatments for every one of their patients. With all of this in place we remain hopeful and optimistic that she will pull through this like she has with all the other health issues she has had .

A Life of Love Hard Work and Giving Back

Allison and her husband Tim were high school sweethearts who married young and are the proud parents of Jake and Rilee. They have always been loving responsible parents working hard to support their family .

Allison once owned her own salon, Envy Hair Design in North Attleboro MA where she was deeply involved in the community . She ran fundraisers participated in Locks for Love and always had a donation jar ready to help anyone in need. During the holidays she would shop for gifts, collect donations, wrap presents and deliver them to families in need so they could have a smile on their faces on Christmas morning.

Unfortunately when Covid-19 hit the restrictions it posed, coupled with her MS symptoms put too much stress on her already compromised body and she had to give up the career that she loved .

Never one to quit, she went on to start a small business specializing in custom made items while also working at the Black Opal Florist delivering flowers. Despite all of these challenges Allison never missed an opportunity to be with her children , attending games , school activities and all the many cheering events , volunteering her time to decorate gyms, braid hair and make bows for the girls on Rilee’s cheer team.

Because of Allison’s compassion and love for dogs, the McLeans have 4 adopted dogs living with them. Most recently Allison was employed by Dogtopia but sadly she had to leave that job and her 4-legged friends behind to focus on taking care of herself now.

How You Can Help

As Allison starts this difficult journey to heal she is going to have to depend on others for help- with meals, transportation, caring for her dogs, and the daily responsibilities that come with taking care of her home and family. Asking for help is not easy for her , as she has always been fiercely independent.

Tim, her devoted and hardworking husband is the co-owner and general contractor at Tremac Home Improvement. Running a small business takes dedication and long hours away from his family and Tim has never hesitated to do the hard work to provide for his family. Unfortunately , as a small business owner, if he takes time off he doesn’t get paid.

Donations from this Go Fund Me will allow Tim to take some time away from work to be with Allison and give her the comfort and emotional support she needs without adding additional financial stress. From an early age Tim has always been there to provide for whatever she needed and in this, the hardest battle of her life, he is the one she wants and needs to be by her side.

Your support will make a meaningful difference in the lives of this beautiful family. Every contribution, no matter how big or small will help ease their burden and allow them to focus on the one thing that truly matters-Allison’s health and well being .

Thank you for taking the time to read Allison’s story.

If you are moved to donate or share we are eternally grateful.

With love and gratitude,

Donna Anderson