Support Chiara and her family through their toughest battle

Dear friends, family, and kind-hearted strangers,

I am creating this page with a heavy heart and a deep sense of urgency to ask for your help. Our strong, creative and nurturing mama, Chiara Ignace has just undergone an urgent, life-threatening brain surgery, and her family is in the fight of their lives to support her through this tragic and unimaginable challenge.

Chiara (29) and her life partner Alexander (32), live in the Fraser Valley with their two young children, Sofia (6) and Nikos (4) and their two dogs. They are loving and generous parents who always put their children first and work hard to support their young family. Chiara, is a nurturing, vibrant and creative mother who prioritizes caring for her family and works part time in a local daycare. Alex is a hard worker and for the past 10 years has been working full time as a concrete pump truck operator and in his off hours is an industrious individual taking side jobs detailing and fixing cars.

On the morning of Friday April 4th, Chiara was at home with her two children preparing for a normal day when she experienced a tremendous headache and began to vomit. Within minutes, her headache became unbearable, and she started to have a seizure. Our brave and wise Sofia was terrified seeing her mother in such distress but was quick to FaceTime her dad at work, to show him Chiara’s scary condition. Within seconds, Alex called 911 and rushed back to the house where he found Chiara was unconsciousness and the kids were scared and crying. Alexander tried everything he could, including CPR to resuscitate her. The ambulance arrived and took Chiara to Chilliwack hospital where she was assessed as critical and rushed to Royal Columbian Hospital to undergo immediate brain surgery. What started as unexplained symptoms quickly escalated into a life-threatening situation that could have taken her from us. Doctors moved swiftly to perform an intricate and high-risk brain surgery lasting almost 6 hours. While we are incredibly grateful that Chiara made it through the surgery, her recovery remains uncertain and her fight is far from over.

As of today, Chiara is in the ICU, with her family by her side, anxiously waiting for her to wake up. At this time, it is unknown when she will wake and what her condition will be when she does. Her recovery is expected to be a long and intensive process that may require not only intensive medical care, but also physical therapy, neurological rehabilitation, and a lot of time to regain her strength.

Chiara is the heart and soul of her family. She is a nurturing spirit and a gentle soul who has always put the needs of others ahead of her own. She has an open heart that gives freely, the creativity that inspires everyone around her, and an earthy, grounded presence that brings peace, warmth and understanding to every room she enters.

While Chiara is fighting to recover from her tragic medical situation her family is experiencing tremendous emotional strain. We are asking for your generosity to help Chiara and her young family manage through this incredibly challenging time with whatever donation you can spare to reduce the financial and overall burden this family is facing. Your donation will go directly towards helping with the costs for:

• Medical treatments and care

• Rehabilitation and therapy to help Chiara regain her strength

• Basic family expenses to offset family lost wages to care for Chiara and their children

No donation is too small. Every bit helps, and your support will make a world of difference in Chiara’s fight to survive and recover. If you’re unable to contribute financially, your prayers, kind words, and sharing this campaign with others are just as important.

Chiara, Alex, Sofia and Nikos are a family of fighters – their strength and love for one another is helping them move forward one day at a time. While the road ahead will be long and difficult, we remain hopeful that with the right care, love, and support, she will recover and return to what she loves most - raising her little people.

Thank you for taking the time to read her story. Your generosity, prayers, and support are greatly appreciated during this critical time. Please keep Chiara, Alex, Sofia and Nikos in your thoughts, and share this campaign with anyone who may be able to help.

With love and gratitude,

Athina (sister to Alexander, sister-in-law to our brave fighter Chiara and auntie to two of the strongest kids I know – Sofia and Nikos)

P.S. A reminder to all that heroes can come in the smallest and most unexpected forms. Though Sofia may not fully understand the gravity of what she did for her mama on April 4, her incredible courage during what would have been an overwhelming and terrifying situation is nothing short of heroic. Sofia, in that moment, you were your mama’s protector, her hero and the one that saved her life. Auntie Athina will always be in awe of your courage, wisdom and strength – you are a treasure my sweet girl.