By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
CAYUGA—For nearly 17 years, Don Hancock tirelessly volunteered his time and efforts at the South Haldimand, Station 11 fire hall, where he was eventually named Captain before retiring. Now, at age 60, Don has found himself hit with an unexpected cancer diagnosis, leaving his family reeling.
“Our family is very close and we do everything together. We want our dad to be able to stay strong and get healthy without having to stress and worry about financial issues,” said daughter Stacie Hancock. “We love him so much, as so many people in the community do, and we all want to be able to have him around for many years to come, as he means everything to us.”
Stacie spoke of her family’s long history in Haldimand County, as both her mom and dad grew up here, meeting as teens and getting married at 18: “They’ve been together through thick and thin.”
While he spent much of his time volunteering at Station 11 in South Cayuga, Don also spent almost 20 years working as a mechanic, and he has always had people by the house to help with a repair or to pass on some wisdom.
Stacie, along with her brother Ryan, has started a GoFundMe campaign to help cover Don’s expenses as he deals with treatment. So far, the community response has been great, with the Hancock family receiving numerous offers or ideas to help with fundraising. As of August 17, the fundraiser was over $7,000.
“A lot of people are overwhelmed and they want to help but they don’t know how. They want to do fundraisers or help contribute,” said Stacie.
One community member, who goes by Moni King on social media, started a cheesecake fundraiser to help contribute, despite only having an indirect connection to Don. Family friend Harold Wax has been astounded by the outpouring of support, noting how they came across the cheesecake fundraiser on social media: “We didn’t know who this person was. We ended up reaching out through Facebook, and this is a person in the community who doesn’t know the family at all; she happens to know the neighbour of Stacie’s brother.”
Don has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a type of blood cancer that starts in your bone marrow and impacts the growth of bone marrow cells, leaving patients highly susceptible to illnesses and infections.
“It was quite the shock,” said Stacie on the diagnosis. “The week leading up to his diagnosis he just wasn’t feeling well. He had been diagnosed with viral bronchitis, but his symptoms got worse and he had to go back to the hospital.”
Following additional tests, Don was sent to St. Joespeh’s and then to Juravinski that same day. Stacie continued, “It was very fast and unexpected. He had to stop working right away and basically our lives have been on hold for the last month just trying to figure out how to deal with this.”
The family is additionally concerned as COVID-19 cases are on the rise again and Don would be highly susceptible in his current condition.
“It’s been devastating for the family at large for a number of reasons. With the initial illness there was a concern about COVID … (and) when that came back negative that seemed like a positive sign,” explained Wax. “Of course, as his condition progressed, some of the symptoms didn’t align well with viral bronchitis or anything else … (and) as the doctors dug deeper, they realized something was amiss.”
With Don unable to work and his wife staying by his side, the family is hoping the GoFundMe will alleviate the anxiety of how they will pay their bills while Don is in treatment: “He is the rock of our family,” said Stacie. “My dad is such a hard worker, never says no to anyone, and is always willing to give his time to help anyone in need.”
Anyone interested in contributing to Don’s GoFundMe can visit gofund.me/7da9921f. Additionally, you can order a cheesecake from Moni King by sending her a message through her Facebook page, with cheesecakes available for purchase on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
