By Tyler Marr

Relay for Life ‘all about hope’ for honourary chair and family

Jun 2, 2018 | 9:15 PM

July 16, 2013, is a day the Mitchell family will never forget.

It was the day Chelsea, the daughter of Shelley and Sheldon, was diagnosed with Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” Shelley said Saturday as the sun broke through the clouds over Kinsmen Park.

That day kicked off a year-long cancer battle for Chelsea, the honorary chair at this year’s Relay for Life, that was filled with ups and downs. She began her treatment in Saskatoon, undergoing eight months, or three runs, of chemotherapy. It was strenuous on the family, forcing them to commute regularly between the two cities and limiting their time together to weekends. Both Shelley and Sheldon also had to contend with their careers as an educator and employee at the penitentiary.

“It was hard,” Sheldon admitted.

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The treatment in Saskatoon did not work for Chelsea, forcing the family to uproot and relocate to Calgary for further treatment. One easy decision at the time, however, was moving the entire family to Alberta.

“We thought, ‘We were not leaving any people behind,’” Shelley said. “If we are going to do this, we are going to do it together.”

They embarked to Calgary without having a place to stay, as the Ronald MacDonald House was at capacity. During the move, the family received a call from a college friend of Shelley’s who generously offered them a downtown apartment they would use periodically as an office. Eight days later, thankfully, a spot at the Ronald MacDonald House opened up — a place the family heralded.

“They try really hard to make it home and we were really lucky,” Shelley said, recalling teaching Chelsea’s sisters in the hospital as they were pulled from school.

Only once did they have to pack into a hotel for 10 days when one of Chelsea’s sisters fell ill. During her four-and-a-half month treatment in Calgary, a stem cell match was found from a donor in Poland. Chelsea underwent a transplant and is now cancer free.

The 17-year-old said it was “special” to have the honour bestowed on her, lead the survivors’ lap and have a chance to share her story.

“You can compare [stories], though no experience is the same,” she said. “[But it is good] to know you are not alone.”

Chelsea said her family and the broader community played a crucial role during her fight, and continue to prove as positive supports after her recovery.

“I don’t know if I would have been able to get through it if I didn’t have the support system that I had,” she added.

Both Shelley and Sheldon said it was humbling to see the support along their journey, from not only immediate family members but random friends and the community as a whole.

“It is amazing what people will do for somebody they don’t even know,” Sheldon said.

Despite Chelsea free from her ALL, Shelley said the journey is “never over,” and proved in the families commitment to fundraise, raise awareness and remain proactive in their advocacy for ending childhood cancer.

“It is not as rare as people think,” she said, highlighting at least seven friends of Chelsea’s who have passed on and a long list of others from her own school who have been diagnosed with some form of Leukemia. As part of their work, the family is involved heavily with the Small But Mighty SK walk in Saskatoon, part of Childhood Cancer Canada.

Hope is the overarching theme of Really for Life and remains a big part of the Mitchell family’s life. Shelley found it fitting to have a large ‘HOPE’ sign erected in the park for the walk.

“It is all about hope to keep going and hope to stop it from happening,” she said. “If there is no hope, there is no change. I think that is the biggest thing — just hope.”

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr