CALGARY -- Thursday marked 17 years since Robin and Chris Milne first met, and she says they’ve been in love ever since.
Robin says 42-year-old Chris was a loving partner from the start, later becoming a playful and caring father to 6-year-old Isla and 4-year-old Lochlan.
He could play “anything with strings” she says, and his singing voice was a constant presence in the house.
But Chris also carried a tremendous weight. Robin had been diagnosed with breast cancer - for a while they thought she might be in the clear. But a follow up visit revealed a significant problem.
“The cancer had metastasized to my spine. Generally there’s no cure,” Robin says. “People with my condition live about three years, I hit three years December 21.”
She still gets treatments every three weeks to keep her alive, but she is in considerable pain.
Despite her dire diagnosis she took comfort knowing the children would have their father to care for them in an uncertain future.
But that comfort was taken away too. On January 21 Chris died suddenly from a suspected heart condition. She now lives with the knowledge her children will soon be left alone, both of their parents gone before their first day of school.
“[They] miss the snuggles at night and the roughhousing and getting thrown up in the air. The tickle fights,” says Robin.
“I just want to live what time I have left with no worry for them.”
Robin’s sister has set up a GoFundMe to help cover living expenses and to hire help with day to day tasks Chris used to do. Robin is unable to unload the dishwasher or buckle car seats.
Despite the struggle, she just wants to hang on and give her children what she can for as long as she can.
“What we’re really looking for is for someone to be there with Robin and the kids in the house,” says Robin’s sister, Sarah Cluff. “Whether that’s morning care or afternoon care. We just want the kids to be in the house with their mother.”
The GoFundMe can be found here.
