My name is Robin, and I never imagined that I’d be organizing this campaign on behalf of my dear friend, Melanie Strömberg, but here I am. You see, Melanie has been through more trials and tribulations over the last 20 years than the average person would expect to experience over several lifetimes. It started in July 2003 when she tragically lost her first child Bergen Gillis to a rare and terminal heart disease when he was only eight months old. In 2009, her son Gregor Gillis was born with Down syndrome. Within the first 18 months of Gregor’s life, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, kidney failure, and leukemia. Melanie spent many agonizing years with Gregor in and out of the IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax, through multiple rounds of chemo which put Gregor at the brink of death dozens of times. (You can read more about Gregor, Bergen and Melanie's daughter Brynn, here: https://www.facebook.com/iwkfoundation/posts/gregor-gillis-of-wellington-nova-scotia-has-been-through-more-in-his-five-short-/10152950037396173/ and here: https://thelaker.ca/inspired-by-her-brothers/ ) But, in a cruel twist of fate, on June 21st, Melanie suffered a vertebral arterial dissection resulting in a brain aneurysm and stroke. (Read more about this life-threatening and potentially fatal condition here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441827/ ). Melanie lost her vision and the use of the left side of her body. She later experienced a second stroke when surgeons deemed the aneurysm inoperable and had to clamp the impacted artery to save Melanie’s life. Thankfully, the second stroke did not cause any further significant damage, and Melanie’s vision has returned over the last several weeks in hospital. However, Melanie is facing a long, hard road ahead of her, as an in-patient at the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre to address the paralysis on the left side of her body and to (hopefully) learn to walk again. All of this means Melanie will not be able to work for an extended period, if ever again. She does not have any short-term disability benefits, and before this tragic incident, Melanie had been off work taking care of Gregor during the CUPE strike in Nova Scotia. As a child with special needs, he was not allowed to attend school without his EPA during the strike. Additionally, Melanie is single and does not have a partner to rely on for financial support. Your donations will provide for gas and parking, for Brynn and Gregor to visit Melanie daily, and for food and basic necessities related to upkeep of their family home. If you are wondering what makes this Go Fund Me campaign different from others, know that Melanie, Gregor and Brynn have generously given their time for years in support of IWK Telethons and the Make a Wish Foundation. In 2024 Gregor was named an Honoured Hero for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Atlantic “Light the Night” campaign. At only 13 years old, Brynn was a special speaker at a 2018 IWK Foundation announcement, recognizing a large donation from Atlantic Superstore’s “Give a Little, Help a Lot” campaign. All three of them have been the faces of countless campaigns over the years, directly supporting a variety of charitable organizations to raise millions of dollars for health care and research. Now, Melanie needs our help! In closing, thank you for taking the time to read Melanie’s story. 100% of donations received will go directly to Melanie, Brynn and Gregor. Please give whatever amount you can; no amount is too small and will be deeply appreciated by Melanie.
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