Teacher seeks cancer treatment in US

When options for ran out in Canada, a beloved area teacher chose to pursue cancer treatment in the United States and the community is supporting that decision.

Mandy Bridson, a teacher at Clearview Meadows in Stayner, is seeking treatment for Stage 4 colon cancer after she was told there would be no happy ending. Surgery was not an option and the chemo wasn’t working so she and husband Steve went to check out a clinic in Arizona at the beginning of the month. They decided to stay and begin treatment at Envita Medical Center, where Mandy is accessing treatments not available in Canada, including chemo, radiation and immunotherapy.

A multi-pronged fundraising campaign is helping to pay the steep medical bills she is facing.

So far, more than $75,000 has been raised through a You Caring online campaign, but that probably won’t cover half of the total cost.

Mandy and Steve are both volunteers and past board members with Elephant Thoughts.

The organization’s executive director, Jeremy Rhodes, said the treatment could cost $200,000 but an exact cost is not known. “She’s been fundamental,” said Rhodes. “Elephant Thoughts was created to be an umbrella organization that teachers with passion can use to make a difference. Of anybody, Mandy is the one who really capitalized on that.”

He said the Bridsons started the Tanzania arm of Elephant Thoughts; they were there on a yearlong family vacation with their daughter Noa, and after having started a kindergarten in India for Elephant Thoughts, they went to Africa and started working there.

Mandy runs an annual sponsorship drive that supports 150 children from poor families to go to school in India and Tanzania. She knows everything about every child, makes sure they are healthy and educated and provides whatever they need.

Rhodes said it was done through Elephant Thoughts but it was all Mandy. Every couple of years she would go back to check on them.

When she heard about a family losing their home in a fire, she raised funds to build one, and when she learned that a young Nepali boy had been abandoned by his mother, she found him a home.

At the end of November, Mandy was unable to eat and was out of options and now she is feeling a bit better, is eating soft foods, although the radiation is making her nauseous.

Having given so much to others, Mandy’s champions are now asking the community to support her.

“We are completely in awe at the amazing response we’ve had to the call out for assistance to help raise money for my treatment! So many people have offered to help and have been so generous,” said Mandy. “About two-thirds of the people we know and another third are people we don’t know, they just want to help. The support and kind words people write is so heart-warming and it’s really helping us get through the mental part of this journey. The financial assistance of course is so very appreciated. Without it, we would not have been able to afford this treatment and there is no doubt I would have only been around a few more months at best. It’s given our family so much hope and the treatment options down here in Arizona are so promising! It’s expensive and we’ll need more financing somehow but we’ll make it. I’m too young to leave this beautiful earth and there’s still so much I want to do in this world. So much more to see, so many more people to help! We choose hope!”

A few fundraisers are in the works and former students are putting their talents to work, performing music and making jewellery for example, and donating the proceeds to Mandy.

On Jan. 5, the We Choose Hope Mega Fundraiser, a concert and silent auction organized by Brooke Girdwood, is at the Legion in Collingwood from 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10 at the door and are also available at Elephant Thoughts, located at 10138 Hwy 26, Collingwood.

On Jan. 13, funds raised at a Duntroon Hall Trivia night will go to Mandy. To reserve a table for the Know It All Ball, call 705-445-2412 (teams of eight, $10 per person). The evening will include a silent auction. Cash bar. Bring your own snacks.

Another event is in the works for Feb. 18, when there will be a concert with local musicians at Duntroon Hall.

Former student Amelia Dutka is selling handmade jewellery. Check out Amelia Gives Back on Facebook.

To donate, visit www.youcaring.com/mandybridson-1019626.