I was visiting my Mom a couple weeks ago in the hospital, after she was admitted to deal with a complication from a recurrence of cancer. (She was diagnosed a month or so before Tory was in 2016.) She asked as she always did about the latest news about The Tory Day Fund, and I told her about all the great things we’re doing at Hearth Place and Sunnybrook, plus our plans for Tory’s Night of Nonsense.
“I still need to buy my tickets,” she said. She’s been among the first ticket buyers for each of the first two Nights of Nonsense.
“Mom, you focus on getting better. I know you’ll be there.”
I knew I’d see her walking in to Winchester this October as she has before with a big smile on her face, with one eye on me and the other on the bar. She’d look beautiful as always, and give me a big hug and tell me how proud she was of me and the team who make The Tory Day Fund happen.
She’d eat, have a few drinks, then hit the dance floor – showing her moves, along with my sister Lisa and anybody else she could cajole.
My mom left the hospital a few days after my visit and felt relief from this damn disease for a couple days after that. But then her pain and discomfort returned, and she was re-admitted to Woodstock Hospital.
Five days later she was gone. My beautiful, courageous, funny, kind, thoughtful, smart, giving Mom died on August 3.
I’ll save the tribute for another day. For now let me just say this:
I know my Mom isn’t the only person to die of cancer this year. Or even on that one day. It’s an insidious, merciless disease and you’ve all likely lost a loved one to cancer since Tory’s Night of Nonsense last year. And if you did, I’m sorry.
What you know then is how cancer rips even the tiniest amount of comfort away from those battling it. Try as we might to get warm blankets, a cup of tea, give a back rub – cancer fights against each of those efforts mightily.
That’s what kept my mom coming back each year to Tory’s Night of Nonsense. She knew firsthand how she and Tory had been denied the comforts they desperately needed, and the impact The Tory Day Fund has on cancer patients at Odette Cancer Centre and Hearth Place.
So if I can – I’ll ask that you buy your ticket for this year’s event for Tory. She’s the reason for the event, and the driving force behind all the goodness we’ve delivered. But also think of my mom, and how she fought like a girl throughout her battle with cancer.
And think of the others we’ve lost. It’s because of them, and the thousands of other cancer patients in Ontario, that we continue our fight to improve their comfort.
Thanks as always.
J.
xoxo
P.S. We’re adding an Early Bird Draw this year! Everyone buying a ticket by August 31 will be entered into a draw to win a fabulous prize.