Keeping Donna’s legacy alive
Donna Chamberlain knew the value in the little things.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, the Niagara Falls woman underwent treatment at Niagara Health’s Walker Family Cancer Centre in St. Catharines.
She quickly realized that little items such as lip balm or mouth rinse provided much-needed comfort during chemotherapy treatments.
Once her treatment ended, she made up a basket of items she found helpful and donated it to the cancer centre. She told the nurses to simply give the basket to a person who was struggling.
When Chamberlain’s cancer returned in February 2017, she returned to the hospital not only for further treatment but also to provide comfort and compassion to people in need.
She created and donated comfort bags, each filled with items she found so invaluable the first time around such as oral care products, activity books, lotions, hot/cold packs.
“She was very humble, she never wanted any recognition, she just wanted other people to feel supported,” said her daughter Rikki Goba.
Through word of mouth, and the power of social media, those first few care packages soon evolved into a Facebook group called Sisters, where people could donate items and share their cancer journey stories. To date, more than 500 comfort bags have been delivered to the cancer centre.
Chamberlain, at age 53, lost her battle with cancer in October, but her passion for helping others cope with the disease will live on.
“We had discussions before she passed away and I told her I would take things over and she didn’t have to worry about anything,” Goba said.
On Friday, friends and family delivered 20 comfort bags and 48 “winter hug baskets” to the hospital. The baskets included slippers, a blanket, a mug and hot chocolate.
“It has various things that, hopefully, will add a smile to someone’s face,” Goba said.
She said her mother lived each moment to the fullest and was happiest when others were happy.
“From cottage weekends away after treatments to parties at her house where she had to go to bed early … she was just happy to know everyone else was having a good time.”
Registered nurses Tammy Vittie, Deb Pogoda and Marlene Lenz cared for Chamberlain at the cancer centre and have distributed the care packages to patients.
“The first time someone comes in, they’re so scared, the diagnosis itself is overwhelming, and they don’t know what to expect,” Pogoda said. “To have something like this given to them, I think every single time they cry.”
Lenz agreed.
“People are absolutely blown away by a stranger’s generosity. They can’t believe that someone, who was in their position, thought of them.”
Starting in January, Sisters will partner with Wellspring Niagara to help co-ordinate the comfort bag program. The charity provides free social, emotional, psychological, informational and spiritual support to individuals living with cancer and their families.
“This is her legacy and it will live on,” Vittie said. “She started this and her family is keeping it going. She’s gone but she’s still here.”