Stories told, money raised as cancer fighter adds to legacy

By Medicine Hat News on May 26, 2020.

SUBMITTED PHOTO - David Packard (left) and Colin Binding help with the bottle drive supporting Kids Cancer Care Saturday at B&J Signs.

As the cars kept lining up and the donation box kept getting filled, what meant the most for Tiana Shoebridge was hearing people’s stories.

The longtime cancer survivor heard a lot of them Saturday.

Shoebridge’s bottle drive for Kids Cancer Care exceeded all expectations, with totals not yet known as of Monday’s press time – but $7,230.75 for sure. That’s the amount between the first bottle drive held May 9 and a donation box which continues to add up as donors have used E-transfer when they had no more bottles to give.

Shoebridge and partner Colin Binding had donations coming in at B&J Signs long before the official hours Saturday and were still getting latecomers wanting to help Monday.

“There were people of all walks of life that were there that day and all for the same purpose … to take steps to stop cancer from hurting more people,” wrote Shoebridge, who’s battled one form of cancer or another for the past 26 years, the latest in her tongue and lymph nodes considered terminal.

A campgoer for kids with cancer back in 1996, Shoebridge has long supported the charity. She suspects this fundraiser may be her last.

“Medicine Hat pulled for me for 26 years since my first diagnosis back in September 1994 and they came together once again for me with these bottle drives even though they now know that my story is coming full circle,” wrote Shoebridge.

From fellow cancer survivors to one man who’d lost both his wife and son to the disease within months of each other, Shoebridge listened and in some cases said her goodbyes. She even gave the grieving husband and father a not-too-socially-distant hug.

“His heart is shattered and I could feel it and he needed that human touch at that moment even though it came at risk,” she noted.

A goal of $12,000 looks to be well within reach, with Redi Enterprises’ bottle depot adding 10 per cent to the bottle totals which are still being tallied.