One of the benefits of living in a small, close-knit community is having a support structure in place in times of crisis.
This is precisely what is happening for a local family whose 11-month-old daughter, Keirra Mabbit, was recently diagnosed with a rare form of cancer — acute myeloid leukemia. Friends have come together to organize a barbecue at the UFA farm store on Saturday, Sept. 1 to raise money to help cover expenses and show support.
Kari Johnson, a close friend of mother Norma-Jean Pollard, said when she heard about the Aug. 1 diagnosis she knew she wanted to do something to help.
“She’s my best friend and they don’t have a lot of money because Norma’s just come out of school,” she said. “I know Norma would do this for me.”
She set about spreading the word and in short order a large contingent of volunteers got organized and began to think about ways to raise money, Johnson said. And the reaction from the family, including Pollard, father Mathew Mabbit and two-year-old brother Nobel Mabbit, has been very positive.
“I’ve talked to Norma about it, and she’s more overwhelmed than anything, that we’re doing all this stuff for her,” Johnson said.
Terri Lockwood said that once she and her co-workers heard about the fundraising effort, she knew immediately she wanted to get involved. She knows first-hand what this kind of community support can mean since that same support helped her when her son was diagnosed with diabetes.
“When I first got the news, it was two days before his sixth birthday. My world was coming to an end,” she said. “If I did not have the support, I would have been lost.”
Lockwood said that while medical treatments are for the most part covered under Alberta health insurance, additional expenses like traveling and prescription drugs are usually paid out-of-pocket.
The planned fundraisers, beginning with the barbecue this weekend and a fundraising bracelet sale then hopefully continuing with a family dance in the near future, are meant to help offset some of those expenses.
As for why people should make the effort to come out to support this family, Lockwood said it’s obvious.
“People should come out and support it because this is a family in our community that needs help,” she said. “We’re community; we’re supposed to all stand together.”
The barbecue is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and will continue until the store closes.
