Comfort at a critical time
Megan shares her family’s story, including how WCK donors supported them with care and sustenance as they managed an impossibly challenging time.
Meet my family
We’re a wonderful blended family of five. We have three kids: 20-year-old Mikaela and her two younger brothers, Mattias (12) and Nolan (3).
Mikaela is quiet and gentle in nature and very hardworking. She’s so smart and has always been so easy to parent. Mattias is wonderfully wild and entertaining – he’s a happy soul and likes to make others happy, too. Nolan is incredibly strong-willed but that’s part of his charm. He is so loveable and keeps me on my toes.
Steve and I got married in September 2020 – back then, we were all excited about the arrival of baby Nolan. It was during the height of the pandemic so life looked a little different, but we were doing well. Steve and I had jobs we liked, and the kids were enjoying school, with Mikaela thriving in Grade 11. It was life as normal.
Mikaela's diagnosis
Everything got turned upside down in an instant. Mikaela got diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma three weeks before Nolan was due. We were just starting this beautiful new chapter of life together, and the rug was pulled from under us.
I ended up having Nolan early because I needed to focus on Mikaela and be able to get to all her appointments. I suddenly had a brand new baby in my arms while my sixteen-year-old girl faced daily appointments and brutal treatments for a life-threatening illness. Nobody could watch Nolan, so he came with me to all the appointments – no way was I going to be apart from my daughter. Amongst it all, I had to figure out how to get Mattias to school, too.
Mikaela had surgery to remove the tumour and radiation therapy to her head and neck. I was told the only thing worse than that is having chemo at the same time. Having radiation to your head and neck affects all of your tissues inside and chars them to the point where everything hurts, including swallowing. It was miserable. The treatment happened every weekday for six weeks, and the effects continued for months afterwards. My girl was in pain.
It was an isolating time – visitors were not allowed in our house back then, and people couldn’t travel without vaccinations, which weren’t easily available. We didn’t have family local to us, and our parents couldn’t visit anyway as they are elderly and could be exposed to Covid.
We were alone. Trying to balance everything, by the end of each day, I had nothing left. All I could do was put one foot in front of the other.
The comfort of WCK meals
With Mikaela’s treatment, she had a hard time eating and lost about 20 pounds, eventually winding up with a feeding tube. The first WCK meal she received was chicken noodle soup, – it provided immediate comfort and it soothed her.
The smoothies were also an important provision, because Mikaela could still get some of that down. With her specific head and neck diagnosis, I can’t tell you how helpful it was to have those dietary options available to us.
Personally, I loved the butter chicken, because it was easy for me to eat but still tasty and full of flavour. When you’ve got that much going on, things have to taste delicious for you to want to take the time to eat them. The meals and snacks felt like more than just food. I felt like somebody was looking after me. It fell on me to feed my family, and somebody cared about me while I cared about everybody else. The food support took a load off of my very full plate.
The snacks came in so handy, too. I could throw some in the diaper bag and pull them out whenever I realized I’d forgotten to eat. I could easily add them to Mattias’ lunchbox as well. WCK’s snacks were there in the moments I needed them.
Showing up with food matters
The food support is not just food. It’s somebody caring about the person who has to hold it all together. Your house can be messy, laundry not done, but you have to feed yourself and your family. WCK’s food programs also take the stress out of losing income when your kid is sick. It helps with time management and allows you to put energy into everything else that is happening.
Having that support made me feel like I had a village out there watching over me. It reassured me that people cared. I tell everybody how much that food saved me.
To everyone who has donated to WCK, I want to say thank you so much. You have no idea how much it actually provides us with, beyond the food itself.
How life looks now
Life is good now. We appreciate things more and count our blessings every day that everyone is healthy.
Mikaela is in her second year of university working to become a teacher. She’s doing really well. She’s still being followed very closely and there are still side effects from her treatment, but we consider ourselves very lucky. The boys are thriving.
The cancer experience has done a lot of things to me that I haven’t yet dealt with. I have severe anxiety when driving on a highway or through a tunnel. When something happens that you didn’t think could ever happen to you, you realize anything can happen at any time. I haven’t yet overcome that, but I know I’ll get there in time.
WCK’s support came at a time that I was lost and alone, and provided comfort to everyone in my family. To know that your experience matters, and that people care, made a world of difference for me.
Bring comfort at a critical time – donate to WCK today and support another family like Megan's.