Help our Family through Cancer

I’m asking for help for my sister Carla and her family in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland. Her husband Gary has been diagnosed with lung cancer, and it has spread to his brain. Gary has been unable to work since becoming ill, and my sister can’t work now because she is taking care of him full-time. This has been especially hard on their youngest daughter Chloe, who just turned 13 and started Grade 8 in September.

My sister's family, like many others, were living paycheque to paycheque, but this cancer diagnosis has left them really struggling financially. Any donations given will be spent on vital necessities such as rent, groceries, bills, and much-needed medical support for Gary to make him as comfortable as possible.

Gary’s Story:

Gary was born in 1955 and grew up with five siblings in Botwood. Born with a rare condition called osteogenesis imperfecta - a bone disease. As a child, Gary was in and out of the hospital with broken bones. Each time spending weeks in a body cast.

Since he was a child he has enjoyed carpentry. All his life he has worked odd jobs in the community for over 50 years. A true jack of all trades. Gary is the type of man who would help anyone whenever they needed it. He took pride in a job done well for a fair day's pay, always making sure he was reasonable with his prices.

Gary met my sister Carla in 2002 while doing renovations in our parent's house. It is love at first sight. He offered to fix her exercise bike, as an excuse just to spend more time together. The more time that they spent together the more our family fell in love with this kind & gentle man. Just a few months later they moved in together and the rest is history. In 2004 Gary's first son Damian was born, and in 2009 their daughter Chloe.

When Gary met Carla she was a single mom with a young son Anthony. They quickly became close, and when they had more children, Gary always made sure that Anthony felt just as loved. Gary is an amazing dad and an incredible role model to his three children. Anthony now has a two-year-old son named Caden. Gary loves being a grandfather to him.

As you can imagine, his children are devastated knowing their father is very sick. Gary has shown such tremendous strength, but remains weak due to the chemo. This is very hard for his children. This breaks my heart. My nieces and nephews adore their dad and miss spending quality time with him.

On July 20th things took a turn for the worst, Gary had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital. He was diagnosed with lung cancer, which had spread from his bloodstream to his brain. A CT scan of his brain showed six lesions. The largest of these lesions measures on the right frontal lobe at the vertex. They travelled to St. John’s to see the radiologist and to get an MRI. Altogether he had five radiation treatments in over two weeks. He is scheduled for tests and treatments this year. Thankfully, for some good news when they travelled to Gander for a bone scan it has not spread to his bones.

Dr. Lester is looking after the treatment of his lung. The specific type of lung cancer is called non-small cell carcinoma. Gary will be receiving two different chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Four treatments every three weeks. Then more tests and scans to see if the lung mass is shrinking. During this time Gary has been taking several medications but since the radiation treatments, there has been a lot of swelling on his brain. Gary’s health has deteriorated and unfortunately he lost muscle mass, and his taste buds from the radiation and illness. After numerous radiation treatments the doctor wanted him to wean off the steroids but he was forced to rely on them to help with the swelling on his brain.

Gary needs round-the-clock care to help dress and undress, bathe, use the bathroom, and get around. He can’t even feed himself because he has no strength in his hands. As you can imagine Gary is unable to work, and Carla can’t either because her husband needs constant care. This would be a financial disaster for anyone, and with this unexpected and devastating turn of events my sister's family is struggling to pay rent, bills, and buy groceries. This journey has been agonizing for them and stressful and emotionally draining. Our family is doing everything we can to help. I'm on disability and our mother is on her late husband's pension. We help however we can but watching someone you love struggle with basic things is hard to watch. Please, if you can help anything will make a difference, even a share of our story. Gary is a good man and he and his family are suffering. Please keep Carla, Gary, and their children in your prayers.