Help Kara beat cancer
Kara MacRae of Belfast is battling cancer at the IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax
When an Islander is in need, it doesn’t take long for a community to come together to offer compassion and support. This was Dorothy Oulton’s experience last fall, following the death of her husband.
The kindness she was shown did not go unnoticed, so when she heard the recent news that her friend’s daughter was diagnosed with cancer, the retiree sprang into action to help the family.
In March, Belfast native Kara MacRae, who is the 11-year-old daughter of Violet Robinson and Donnie MacRae, complained of a sore throat.
Within 10 days, the Grade 6 student from Vernon River Consolidated underwent surgery to have a cancerous lump removed.
Kara and her parents must now travel to the IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax for treatments for the next six months, and Oulton wanted to help alleviate some of the financial burdens associated with the
illness by starting a GoFundMe campaign. There will also be a fundraising skate for Kara, who is a goalie with the Capital District Cyclones PeeWee A team. It will be held today at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown, 1-2 p.m.
“I think it’s just important for people to understand it’s a caring community,” she said. “(We’re) working to make sure that Kara has good care and can have her parents with her, by making sure that they can afford to be with her, and travel back and forth.”
Oulton, who has been in contact with Robinson, said Kara is getting along well. “Violet continues to say Kara’s doing really well. She is
a very upbeat, high-spirited, incredibly intelligent girl,” she said.
“Nothing’s going to stop her.”
A person’s situation can change in a heartbeat, Oulton said, adding she’s proud to be part of a supportive community.
“The one thing that is so clear, is everything can be normal one day and the next day your whole life is different.”