Lynn
These days, Lynn Kinsman gets tired very quickly. She frequently pauses while speaking - with her thoughts wandering away into the world of unknown and uncertainty.
Yet, her spirits soar high - undaunted by the challenges life has thrown at her one after another.
For her, the only constant has been her resilience and the love of innumerable people guarding her like 'angels'.
When Oakville News reached out to Lynn to learn about her struggles - she was excited about the love our town continues to shower on her family rather than tell us about her sufferings.
Lynn, her husband Aaron and her 9-month-old daughter moved from London, Ontario, to Mississauga for her husband's work as a senior scientist with a pharmaceutical research company.
Lynn joined the company soon after.
The family's journey in Oakville's Clearview neighbourhood started about nine years ago and gave Lynn her friends and, more recently, her caregivers.
Her struggles began when she lost her husband to cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) in 2016.
As time passed, she gathered herself and took care of Arabella, her daughter- then only a 6-year-old.
She eventually made lifelong friends through the church. She even facilitated the Halton/Peel Regional Group of Soaring Spirits International (a US-based organization to help widows with hope and healing).
Just when Lynn thought she had almost finished picking up the broken pieces of her life, she was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, much like her husband.
Desperate to avoid a fate like his, she underwent surgery and chemotherapy.
Her friends Trudy Hart and Elli Nyholt stepped in as her primary caregivers.
"Elli and Trudy took turns to take me for appointments and guided me to navigate the crisis, handled our move to a new home in Kerr Village while I was battling cancer in the hospital last summer," Lynn recollected.
"People from the church and even my financial advisor painted the house. I was astounded with the rock-solid support."
"I understand how difficult it is to be a solo parent to your children. Lynn and I developed an instant connection over our loss of partners," Trudy, a widow and mom to three children, observes, looking back at their friendship.
Her neighbours have also come forward to watch and drive her to the hospital in an emergency. According to Lynn, this is one of several instances where "the Lord is showing the good parts of life with my cancer."
With her cancer relapsing in January, Lynn now struggles to take care of herself, her daughter and her three-year-old Labrador.
As she continues to balance her part-time work and medical treatment, hoping for a miraculous cure with a new drug—the locals continue rallying to help her.
"My friends started a fundraiser to support me financially. Neighbours bring me food, while friends and strangers keep donating," Lynn shared. Though the fundraiser was set up to cover medical expenses, the drug manufacturer has agreed to cover 100 per cent, the funds will now be used to provide the financial support she will need. Click here to donate: Lynn Kinsman - Fight with Rare Cancer.
She added that Arabella gets help from youth counsellors at school and Nanny Angel Network (a Canadian organization that provides free in-home services for mothers with cancer).
In an act of farsightedness long before her illness, Lynn had asked Trudy to be Arabella’s guardian if anything untoward happened to her. Trudy had readily agreed, considering Arabella refers to her as 'her second mom'.
"They are family to me. I sincerely hope Lynn will be around to watch her daughter grow. However, it is comforting to see that she has an updated will and plans in place if the worst hits," Trudy reflects.
Lynn has recently made a bucket list of things for her daughter and herself to do together. "I'm trying to create as many memories as I can before I go. I'm too stubborn to give up," Lynn remarked.
She expressed her gratitude for “the outpour of love from the community” as she signed off, saying, "it gives me strength to hang in there."
