A local woman is expressing her gratitude to the community for standing by her during a tough personal time.
Amalie Gunn was diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer in the middle of a pandemic. A new mom to a ten-month-old boy, Amalie only had her husband for support as both their families couldn’t visit because of COVID-19.
But since then she has discovered a new family: Squamish.
“I am extremely thankful for each and every one in the community who has helped us,” she says.
Amalie’s acupuncturist, Darcia Dahl, put her in touch with local photographer Angela Bliss for some portraits before her surgery.
Bliss later put out a post on the local Squamish Moms page to organise a meal train.
“It kicked off really quickly and I was surprised with how many people wanted to support us with meals,” Amalie says.
Along with chemo sessions, Amalie has also had a double mastectomy and currently has limited use of both her arms, and won’t be able to life her son for about 8 weeks.
It has been a restrictive and painful experience so far, and she still has five weeks of radiation, another surgery and months of IV therapy left to do.
The help of her community has, however, been a bright spot for Amalie and her husband.
“Even though this has been an extremely hard time for us as a family we are blown away by the kindness and generosity of this community,” she says.
During Christmas, people also left gifts on their doorsteps to make the holidays special.
“Our hearts are full of love and respect for others we and can’t wait to pay it forward. COVID-19 has caused so much devastation this year but it has also brought the best out of people.”
