On April 17, 2021, Kim’s healthy, athletic 16 year old daughter was unexpectedly diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL and in an instant and without warning, everything changed. For the next 2.5 years, intense chemotherapy treatment and travel between BC Children’s Hospital and Victoria General Hospital became their new norm, impacting the entire family. During that time, IKCA became a life line for so many reasons; between the financial support with gas, ferry costs and food, mental health support/counselling, and regular opportunities to connect with others who were navigating the same experience.
After her daughter’s treatment was completed and she had moved into the long term follow up phase, Kim decided to join the Board given her gratitude to IKCA and her desire to “pay it forward” in a meaningful way. She brings both personal lived experience as a parent-caregiver, but also brings her experience as a Youth & Family Counsellor who has worked with families within the school system for 20 years. It is Kim’s hope that her first hand experience can provide some support and guidance to families who find themselves navigating the same reality.
The journey can be a lonely and isolating one, and no matter how much support one has from family or friends, there is nothing quite like knowing that the mom you are being introduced to feels as helpless, as vulnerable, as angry, as confused and as scared as you!
