12/01/2025
Hey everybody. I've had a few people ask me about my haircut and I want to share what's been going on.
I was given a breast cancer diagnosis earlier this year. I'm counting myself very fortunate. I caught it early and the treatment has shrunk the tumour down so much that even my surgeon can't feel it. I had my last chemo treatment a week ago. That makes 16 treatments since May. I'm still receiving immunotherapy and I'll have surgery in January and then a course of radiation.
I've needed to take time away from work and put a lot of plans on hold. So when some connections at The Kidney Foundation got in touch to ask if I could help them run a new ornament fundraiser I felt very unsure. In a good year, the answer would have been an instant yes.
I'm beyond proud of what we've been able to do together! It looks a little different than what I used to do, which was design (with a lot of help from my friends), advertise, attend every craft market I could, mail ornaments all over the globe (never did manage to get one to Antarctica, but I got every other continent), and from each sale, I would donate $1 to the local chapter of the Foundation to support the incredible help they provide kidney patients, recipients, and caregivers.
My favourite part of that job was that I became a health and science communicator. Every person who bought an ornament from me did so because they resonated with the story of my husband and his donor, Donor Dave, my friend since childhood. I could help spread the message of how many people are impacted by kidney disease (1 in 10 Canadians)! It gave me a lot of purpose.
This new fundraiser is brilliant! I was able to partner the Foundation with Amos Pewter and I love the design that came from this new relationship. Designer Sebastien McSween took inspiration from my original Kidney Heart design and took it in a beautiful new direction. Two kidneys come together to form a butterfly, symbolizing hope and connection. I've heard from many people that they love this new piece and what it represents.
With this new fundraiser, we're able to give back much more. For every $30 ornament sold, $15 goes towards LOCAL patients, programming, and research.
This is a picture I took last week at my final chemo. I'm so glad that in a year of saying no to the things I care about, I was able to say yes to supporting The Kidney Foundation of Canada.
