ESTEVAN – The family is seeking help and asking the community members to rally behind Estevan’s Connie Heath as she battles stage 3 stomach cancer, undergoing multiple surgeries and facing a long road to recovery.
Heath, a mother of five, underwent a total gastrectomy on Jan. 15, a procedure that removed her entire stomach. Just days later, she suffered bilateral lung collapse and pneumonia, extending her hospital stay. After briefly returning home to her children, she was rushed back to Regina on Jan. 23 for emergency surgery due to a bowel rupture near her esophagus. She has remained in hospital ever since, requiring a feeding tube, lung drainage procedures and ongoing monitoring, according to information on , created by her cousin Shelley Raymond.
Her family has been by her side throughout this ordeal, with her two eldest sons taking time off work and traveling from Alberta and British Columbia to care for their three younger siblings. Meanwhile, the costs of medical care, ambulance trips, accommodations, gas and food for her family continue to add up, placing a significant financial strain on them.
To help ease the burden, Heath’s loved ones have launched a fundraiser to assist with expenses. Donations can be made via e-transfer to [email protected], with auto-deposit enabled for direct transfers. A campaign has also been set up on Feb. 15 for those who prefer to donate online. It is seeking to raise $10,000. Three weeks later it only saw two donations attracting a total of $225.
“[Connie] will be starting chemo right away but the odds are still stacked against her,” said Raymond in an email to SaskToday. “She applied to TeleMiracle for help financially but they ask you to exhaust your own fundraising efforts . Sadly, my GoFundMe has only raised $225 in two weeks of it being up. She has five kids, two are grown and three are still at home the youngest is 3.
“Connie has lived in Estevan for over 20 years, and no, she not a well-known person in the community. She is not a businessperson. [But she still] needs all the help she can get. She is a mom raising her kids which I may say she done well.”
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