Fundraiser being held for Terry Ireland
September 19, 2019, 4:13 am
Kara Kinna
A fundraiser is being held for Terry Ireland who is struggling with multiple medical issues and is facing extensive travel costs and medical costs.
Terry is a former Welwyn and Rocanville resident who now lives in Moosomin.
She was diagnosed with osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis and what was supposed to be a simple medication change has escalated into a whirlwind of health complications and appointments.
While Terry was being switched onto a chemo medication to treat the rheumatoid, she developed shingles. During her bout with shingles, she developed foot drop, causing her to break the fifth metatarsal on her foot. In combination with damaged knees from arthritis and foot drop, she was left with no choice but to be in a wheelchair.
In February of 2019, her doctor discovered she had an enlarged abdomen and upon further investigation, an aortic aneurysm was detected.
To date, Terry has had seven trips to Regina and two trips to Yorkton, with many more trips to come. She has a long road to recovery.
Ruth Desjarlais, Terry’s daughter, and Alma Ducharme are putting together a benefit supper and dance for Terry on Friday, October 11, in hopes to help cover the cost of Terry’s medical trips, as well as the costs of making her house in Moosomin more wheelchair accessible.
The fundraiser consists of supper, a silent auction, and live music by Ruth Desjarlais and Joe Theriault, as well as other local musicians. The event will take place at the Moosomin Legion Hall.
Desjarlais says it was just one thing after another with her mom after a simple medication switch.
“It kind of just started in December,” she says. “She was supposed to switch her medication and then all of a sudden a whole bunch of other things started to happen. She developed shingles because the chemo drugs knocked her immune system down, and then during the time she had shingles she developed this foot drop which we had never even heard of. And then on her way to the doctor to figure out why her foot was going numb, she broke her foot, so for 10 weeks she was in a cast.
“It’s kind of just a whole bunch of things, it’s not just one specific reason.”
Ruth says the problems started to pile up to a point where she felt she needed to reach out for help for her mom.
“She tried to get home care but the money she has for her pension goes toward her trips, so she can’t afford essential things,” says Ruth. “It would be nice if we could get home care for her but then she can’t afford the trips.
“We are looking to see if she can get a bath lift. she can’t get in and out of the tub. So we mover her from Rocanville to a wheelchair accessible house in Moosomin. She can’t do stairs.”
Ruth says they are estimating a bath lift will cost around $700.
She says when her mom was diagnosed with an aneurism on top of everything else, it was a shock.
“What we didn’t expect is that she would get shingles and foot drop and break her foot, and then the aneurism on top of that is a pretty big shock,” she says.
Terry will be having surgery for her aneurism and will need to be in the city doctoring on a regular basis from now on.
Ruth says her father is 79 years old and also has his own health problems to contend with, making it hard to care for his wife.
“It would be nice to start eliminating some of those stresses for him as well. If we can accommodate mom’s health, then just as a whole, it might help everybody,” says Ruth.
Donations for Terry are being accepted online via a Go Fund Me page (search for Fundraiser for Terry Ireland), and silent auction items for the fundraiser are being accepted at the Borderland Co-op administration office in Moosomin or by contacting Ruth at 306-645-0006 or 306-434-5975.
Tickets for the fundraiser can be purchased at the World-Spectator office.
The fundraiser starts at 4:30 pm with cocktails, followed by supper at 5 pm, and entertainment.
