CALGARY -- A Calgary family is grateful for the support they’ve been receiving after sharing their daughter’s fight with cancer online, but were blown away after one man went out of his way for the young girl.
It all started when eight-year-old Chloe Nielsen stopped eating around mid-March. Her mother, Lisa Lombardi, took her to hospital but never imagined doctors would deliver every parent’s worst nightmare – Chloe had acute lumphocytic leukemia.
“She just has the biggest heart. There is just something about her as soon as you meet her you just fall in love with her. That’s what the teachers say, nurses just every single person that comes into contact with Chloe, she’s just something special,” says Lombardi.
Chloe is also on the autism spectrum and has been dealing with other health complications ever since the cancer diagnosis on March 24th.
Shortly after sharing her daughter’s story online, Lombardi received a message from a man in Maple Creek, Sask., who wanted to help.
Bill DeRepentigny’s niece also fought cancer at a young age and he was touched by Chloe’s story.
“It was so much the same of when our family was up there. We know the struggles we know how hard it is,” he says. “The bills are pilling up and you don’t need to worry about that stuff when you’re worried about your children.”
Within 24 hours of reading the post, DeRepentigny has collected more than $3,000 from his biker friends and the community and drove to Calgary to deliver it to the family.
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The donation and gesture floored Chloe’s mom and stepdad who’ve both had to take time off work to be in hospital and at home with their other young daughter.
“I can’t even put into words how amazing that is. How somebody could see a story and just do that,” says Lombardi.
DeRepentigny plans to start an annual bike ride to raise emergency funds for families who find themselves in similar situations.
Chloe has a long treatment plan ahead of her, and while Lombardi knows it will be a challenge, says kindness show from DeRepentigny and others is helping the family get through it all.
“I know this sounds funny but you can almost feel the prayers sometimes.”
You can follow along with Chloe's fight on Facebook.
A GoFundMe page has also been created to support the family.
