Sarah Mills: A birthday party to remember in Hawaii
It has been a very special and very memorable two weeks for Sarah Mills and her family. In today's Mills Minute, Sarah s...
August 25, 2019 is a day that Shelby Delorme won’t soon forget. That was the day her three-year-old son, Weston, was diagnosed with leukemia.
February 13, 2020 might also stand out to her for a long time but for a different reason.
On Thursday, Delorme and her family became the first recipients from the new CIBC Pediatric Oncology Family Comfort Fund, that provides families with financial support for non-medical expenses like groceries, gas, meals and parking.
“Often because their parents aren’t able to work while they are on treatment, really there is no income coming in. So yes we have a publicly funded system where all the medical costs are covered but a lot of these ancillary costs are very draining on families,” said Dr. Roona Sinha, pediatric hematologist and oncologist at Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital.
“Especially when the families are often young families with young kids. This is very hard for them to have the funds they need for simple things like thermometers or even sometimes groceries while they are on treatment.”
This fund will go a long way for Delorme, who already lives at the Lighthouse Supported Living and has had a difficult time making ends meet while Weston has been in and out of the hospital.
“It helps a lot, I didn’t want to start crying but I am going to start crying soon but I appreciate it a lot because I am a single mom so it helps,” said Delorme, who has two kids at home and another one on the way.
“I don’t know how I’m going to be a single mom of four kids but my son is a big reason why I keep going everyday. I didn’t think this would ever happen to any of my kids so it’s still a lot to take everyday.”
To cover all the expenses associated with being at the hospital nearly every day, Delorme has resorted to fundraising. She has been using an app that allows people to pay to play bingo on their phones with half the money going to the winner.
She has also received $250 in emergency funds from her reserve but says “with the cafeteria food and how much it is it doesn’t help all that much.”
But despite all the struggles and challenges, Delorme is extremely proud of how her son has been handling everything.
“He has been handling the treatments really good. He’s energetic but just this last block has been the most intense he has been through,” she said.
“Other than that he was always energetic he was able to be a normal three-year-old but now it’s like he can’t really walk, he aches a lot, he can’t sleep, his IV is bugging him a lot where he gets itchy sometimes.”
What the families receive from the fund differs case-by-case but usually includes things like gift cards for gas and groceries and a sometimes a parking pass, if needed.
