Help Mahalia Fight Cancer

In late June, our dear Mahalia received devastating news: she was diagnosed with advanced metastatic colorectal cancer that has spread to her liver and abdominal cavity. Mahalia desperately wants to fight this cancer and be here to raise their two wonderful children with her partner, Erin, and live the future they dreamed of together. 

We, her community, want to do everything we can to support Mahalia and her family throughout this journey. We appreciate any donations you are able to make to our fundraiser.

Introducing Mahalia


Mahalia, her spouse Erin and their two children, Ellemere (2.5 years old) and baby Isaiah (5 months), moved to Vancouver less than a year ago.

Up until her recent cancer diagnosis, Mahalia was happily navigating life with a toddler, a new baby, a dog, exploring her new city with Erin, and excitedly anticipating setting up her business after a brief maternity leave.

Mahalia's laugh, her hugs, her devotion to her children, and caring nature are just some of the things we love about her. She has devoted her life to helping others: Mahalia is passionate about complementary healthcare, and served her community for 11 years in Ontario prior to moving out west.

Now we're asking our communities to help her.

The Reality
Mahalia is now living with the emotional stress of this frightening diagnosis, ongoing chemotherapy and its side effects, constant travel to and from medical appointments, the physical stress of two surgeries (so far), and living with an ileostomy bag. Her doctors say that she will need chemotherapy indefinitely because of the advanced stage of her cancer. Reality is that her world has been flipped upside down.

Mahalia’s journey through cancer will be very financially challenging. She and Erin are bracing themselves for a huge drop in income. Before she was diagnosed with cancer, Mahalia was juggling part-time work and childcare, and Erin was working full-time. Now, as Mahalia has numerous appointments every week and her reactions to the chemotherapy and other treatments are unpredictable, Erin can no longer work full-time as she needs to be available to support Mahalia and care for their children. Although Erin is continuing to work as much as possible, the stark reality is that their expenses have exponentially gone up while their household income has drastically gone down.

Instead of building their lives in their new city, they are in a fight they never expected. Mahalia and Erin are both self-employed without the safety net of medical leave, and they have two small children to care for.

Making a Difference
Mahalia needs ongoing help with:
- childcare costs 
- living expenses 
- medications and supplies not covered by BC Health 
- complementary care 
- transportation to and from chemotherapy and other medical appointments 

As Mahalia is just at the beginning of this journey, there may be additional costs in the future that we cannot account for here. Below is what we anticipate is needed to get them through the first 12 months. 

Childcare
One of the biggest expenses Mahalia is facing is for the care of baby Isaiah and little Ellemere. Mahalia is a wonderful mother and, right from the beginning, along with Erin, has been a dedicated, present and loving parent. Now with the side effects of chemotherapy, her ileostomy bag, and the permanent I.V. port in her chest, it is very difficult for her to do the physical tasks of parenting. 

Ellemere is in full-time daycare, which is needed now that Mahalia’s capacity for childcare is so greatly reduced. It is also a wonderful part of Ellemere’s day, where she has friends and fun distractions from the new reality at home. 

Part-time help at home is also desperately needed for things like taking Ellemere to daycare, picking her up, caring for Isaiah, preparing meals and feeding the kids, taking them out to play, and all the many things of parenting that are now much harder or impossible for Mahalia to do. While Erin is a fully involved and loving parent, she is trying to keep her work afloat and is challenged now to balance home and work so both can be sustainable. Your donation will go a long way toward supporting them with childcare.


Living Expenses
Your loving contributions will help them cover their regular and monthly expenses. These things include rent, utilities and household bills, groceries, diapers and other items for the children. 

Medications and Medical Supplies
Mahalia and Erin now have a budget category they never wanted. It is adding up quickly and your donations will help them with Mahalia’s ongoing medical expenses that are not covered by BC Health, including expensive ileostomy supplies and anti-nausea medications. 

Transportation 
Erin and Mahalia are experiencing increased costs in transportation as Mahalia has an average of 5-6 appointments a week. As they have always been committed to using public transportation, they will continue to bus to and from appointments whenever possible. However, side effects of chemotherapy can cause Mahalia to be extremely ill, and taxis and car share vehicles will be necessary at these times.

Complimentary Care
Mahalia and Erin are doing everything in their power for Mahalia to get through this and watch their kids grow up together. Mahalia is determined to become a textbook medical miracle. For this reason, in collaboration with her oncology team, she is seeking complementary naturopathic care alongside her chemotherapy treatment - all of which is to be paid for out of pocket.