Dear Editor:

You hear it time and time again that this community we live in is amazing when somebody is in need. We all know it but I dont think that we really understand until you see it firsthand.

Over the past year my husband has been battling a reoccurrence of colon cancer. This time it showed up in his liver, and once again he was fighting for his life. He had to travel to Cranbrook, Vancouver, and Kelowna for appointments. Todd underwent more chemo, and a major surgery in October where they removed the tumor. We are happy to report that he again is in remission.

When you receive the news that you have cancer your thoughts are how you are going to fight this. You start going to appointments, you get poked, prodded, scanned, etc. At that point you are not thinking of the financial strains this is going to put on you and your family. But after six months of traveling, not working, filing paperwork, and trying to stay positive, you realize that the cancer has hit you hard financially. We had many people who offered to do fundraisers for us, but we were too proud.

Our amazing friends already helped us at home by cutting the grass, making meals, childcare, and even helped us re-roof our house. Some of our extended family even made it possible to go to Disneyland for a week to escape.

We are so fortunate, how could we ask for more? Then came the realization that we needed more help. With Todd not working and hard times for small businesses in the valley, we were struggling to pay our day to day expenses.

One day a much respected woman in the community sat us down and said that it was time to ask for help. That was almost as hard as hearing that your husband has cancer for the second time.

Once we accepted that we needed to ask, we were then overwhelmed with kindness. Many people said it is about time we asked. We received everything from money, services, food, and gift cards for gas, groceries, and prayers. We are humbled and appreciate everything.

Nothing has gone without notice. We are forever grateful for our friends, family, and community. Each and every one one of you have helped us survive and conquer this past year. Thank you.

Love,

Carrie, Todd and Danica Rickards