Friends of resident Heather Maitland are hosting a fundraiser dinner at The Crushed Can Rec Room & Bar to help support her and the family through a troubling stage-four cancer diagnosis.
The dinner will take place on Thursday, March 28 and will be held between 4:30 to 8 p.m. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door or by phone, and the meal will feature a half rack of ribs, a potato option, and Caesar salad.
The idea for the fundraiser came as a result of co-workers pooling ideas together to come up with a way to help the family.
“They are kind of like a family at our (workplace), so we wanted to do something for them because he (Ken) has missed a lot of work, and we figured a fundraiser would be the best thing that we could offer,” explained Kayla Longworth, a long-time co-worker of Heather’s husband, Ken.
Longworth has worked with Ken for around 15 years now, and said the family moved to Moose Jaw from Ontario at around the same time and currently they don’t have any family close by for support.
The fundraiser aims to cover the costs of lost wages due to Ken and Heather having to miss work, and it will also help with any unexpected costs that might come up including transportation and medical expenses.
As well, their son is currently studying law in Calgary, and has to consider the cost to travel back and forth from Moose Jaw.
Heather had been working as a teacher’s aid in Moose Jaw, and she spent much of her career working as a special needs assistant at Lindale and King George schools. Recently, she worked as a librarian and at the concession booth at Peacock Collegiate.
Ever since she discovered stage four cancer, Heather hasn't been able to work and has remained in the hospital ever since the diagnosis.
“On Christmas, my boss found out that his wife wasn’t feeling good,” recalled Longworth with a heavy heart. “They took (Heather) to the ER thinking it was just a really bad stomach flu. She felt totally fine her whole life pretty much, right up until recently.
“They did a bunch of tests and found out she has stage four cancer.”
Due to a medical complication, Heather was unable to undergo the standard chemotherapy or to receive medication as would be standard procedure. The advanced stage of cancer also comes with a troubling prognosis.
Longworth said she had only worked with Ken, but Heather would stop by the local retail store on occasion and left an impression with each visit.
“We didn’t work with her, but it was like we did whenever she was in the store,” Longworth said.
“Everybody that has known her (agrees)… she is a well-liked person, so it’s very unfortunate when we got the news.
“We haven’t really asked too much of folks, because it’s a touchy subject,” she added. “But we know that they definitely need the help.”
The fundraiser supper will take place at The Crushed Can Rec Room & Bar located at 82 Manitoba Street West. All meals will be available for take-out and the deadline for advance ticket purchases is March 21.
Tickets can be purchased at the door or by contacting Kayla Longworth at 306-630-8765.
“The support really means a lot to us,” Longworth concluded.
