Every step tells a story: Why I walk for my mom

My mom, Cathy, spent more than 30 years as a respiratory therapist at Saint John Regional Hospital. But her connection to the hospital and our community extended far beyond her work.

She believed deeply in giving back.

Growing up, I remember supporting Foundation fundraisers like Lasagna Day and Spaghetti Day, the Teddy Bear Fair, book sales and so many other community events. If there was an opportunity to help, my mom was there.

That was simply who she was.

She was one of those people who could walk into a room and immediately make it brighter. She would give you the shirt off her back without a second thought. She was selfless, fiercely caring and somehow able to find something positive in almost every situation.

Even cancer couldn't change that.

The person cancer couldn't change

My mom was diagnosed with cancer in 2012.

For nearly a decade, through appointments, treatments, uncertainty and all the difficult moments that come with a cancer diagnosis, she remained one of the most positive people I have ever known.

She continued to care about her community. She continued to worry about everyone around her. She continued to find reasons to laugh, love and give.

Some of my memories from those years are incredibly ordinary, but they say so much about her.

I remember bringing Lasagna Day home to her when she wasn't well enough to be out herself. Even from bed, even while facing her own illness, she still wanted to support the causes and community she had always cared so deeply about.

That was Mom.

She passed away on April 30, 2021.

And while there are countless things I wish I could still share with her, I see pieces of her in so much of the life I have built since.

Finding my way back to Saint John Regional Hospital

My career has taken me through health and wellness, the corporate world and the non-profit sector. Then, in the summer of 2025, I found my way to the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation.

I've always been a firm believer that sometimes you end up exactly where you're supposed to be, exactly when you're supposed to be there.

Walking into the Foundation, I couldn't help but feel like something had come full circle.

I was back at the hospital where my mom had dedicated more than 30 years of her life. I was working for the Foundation she had supported for as long as I could remember. And every day, I had the opportunity to help strengthen health care in the community she loved so much.

So much of what guides me in my work came from her.

Care about people. Show up. Give back. Leave your community a little better than you found it.

I wish I could tell her about my job.

But somehow, I think she'd understand exactly why I ended up here.

Walking for Cathy

In September 2025, my sister, my dad, my aunt (my moms sister) and our friends and family attended the Fundy Trail Cancer Walk for the first time.

We walked as The Cathy Crew.

I work in marketing. Finding the right words is quite literally part of my job.

But I still struggle to describe how that day felt.

There was grief, of course. But there was also so much joy.

There were families walking in memory of someone they loved. People walking beside someone still facing cancer. Survivors. Caregivers. Friends. Children. Health care professionals. People celebrating, remembering and hoping.

For our family, it felt like love, community, home, remembrance and strength all wrapped into one beautiful day.

And for a few hours, you realize just how many stories can exist on one trail.

Every person is there for someone.

Every step really does tell a story.

The support I know Mom would have loved

This year, the Fundy Trail Cancer Walk is supporting the Dr. Margot Burnell Cancer Support Program, and that makes this walk even more personal for me.

Dr. Burnell was my mom's oncologist for nearly 10 years.

Today, the program that bears her name provides something I understand the importance of in a completely different way after watching someone I love live with cancer.

Because cancer doesn't begin and end in an exam room.

Treatment is only one part of what a patient and their family experience.

There is the fear. The exhaustion. The loss of routine and independence. The questions about nutrition, movement and what your body can handle. There is loneliness. There are caregivers trying to be strong while carrying their own worry. There are families doing everything they can to help while sometimes having no idea what "help" is supposed to look like.

Cancer affects the whole person.

And it affects the people who love them, too.

The Dr. Margot Burnell Cancer Support Program recognizes that.

Through exercise, yoga, nutrition and cooking programs, mindfulness, education, peer connection, navigation, caregiver support and opportunities simply to be with people who understand, the program helps patients and families navigate life during and beyond cancer treatment.

It is offered free of charge and is 100 per cent donor funded.

When I think about my mom, I know exactly what she would have said about it.

She would have loved it.

I can picture her at a cooking class. I can picture her having tea in the garden, trying yoga, chatting with absolutely everyone and probably convincing someone else to come back with her the following week.

More than anything, I know she would have advocated fiercely for a program like this.

Because she understood community.

And she understood that sometimes people need more than medical treatment. They need connection. They need encouragement. They need somewhere they can feel like themselves again.

I also know our family would have benefited from that support.

When someone you love has cancer, you would do anything to make things better for them. But you can't always fix what they're facing.

Sometimes you just need people around you who understand.

It really does take a community.

Another full-circle moment

There is one more connection to this program that isn't lost on me.

Before joining the Foundation, I had the opportunity to work at Irving Oil.

Years later, I now find myself helping raise awareness and support for a program that was established through a founding gift from The Arthur L. Irving Family Foundation, together with Irving Oil.

At the time, I never could have predicted where my career would take me or how personally meaningful this program would eventually become.

Life has a funny way of connecting the dots.

From watching my mom support this Foundation throughout my childhood, to working at an organization that helped make this program possible, to eventually finding my own place at the Foundation, helping tell these stories and rally our community around this work, it feels like another small piece of the circle coming together.

And I know Mom would be proud to see what our community has built.

This year, we walk again

On September 26, The Cathy Crew will be back at the Fundy Trail Cancer Walk.

And this year, we hope our crew is a little bigger.

Actually, a lot bigger.

We will walk for Mom. We'll walk for the people still facing cancer. We'll walk for survivors, caregivers and families. We'll walk for the people we've lost and the people we desperately hope never have to hear the words, "You have cancer."

And we'll walk because programs like the Dr. Margot Burnell Cancer Support Program only exist because people in our community choose to make them possible.

Cancer has touched almost every one of us in some way.

But that also means almost every one of us has a reason to show up.

Walk in memory.

Walk in honour.

Walk beside someone you love.

Walk because you know what cancer can take from a family.

Or simply walk because you believe no one should have to face it alone.

Every Step Tells a Story.

I know exactly who I'll be walking for.

And I know she'd be right there with us if she could.

Probably at the front of The Cathy Crew, making friends with everyone along the way.

Join us at the Fundy Trail Cancer Walk on September 26 and help make this year's walk the most impactful one yet.