Know the signs, and share your ‘Blood for Turpin’

January 14, 2015 · 0 Comments

‘The Doula Group’, serving Simcoe County and York Region, recently held a blood donor clinic at the Tottenham Community & Fitness Centre in honour of Sarah Turpin.
Sarah, a 32-year-old mother of three, was a resident of Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, and was a teacher at Carbonear Academy. She passed away from a rare form of cancer called ‘choriocarcinoma’ or the pregnancy cancer, on October 3, 2014 at Carbonear General Hospital in St. John’s, Newfoundland, one week after being diagnosed.
Her three young children, Rowan (her heart), and twins Grant and Ellis (she lungs), will be raised by her husband, Peter, now a single father.
Sarah’s cancer likely developed after a miscarriage in January 2014, but remained undiagnosed until it was too late.
“We are supporting a young family, three kids under three, who lost their mom to a very rare pregnancy-related cancer. As many single dads can attest to, daily life is a challenge – but the insurmountable grief that accompanies a sudden and tragic loss makes that day to day life that much more challenging. We are aiming to help this family, but also to remind people about the need for blood donations and to bring awareness to the signs and symptoms of choriocarcinoma,” said Mélissa Cowl of The Dula Group. “Sarah’s last wish was for people to make the time to (give blood) as she received multiple transfusions during her week in the hospital before she died.”
“From a fund raising perspective, we are hoping to ease the financial burden for this young family,” continued Cowl. “The practical side of this particular tragedy means loss of income and three children under three to support for many years to come. Most recently, Sarah’s husband was off work for three weeks while two of the children were in the hospital with a viral lung infection. In addition, since Sarah had her three children so close together she was not eligible for a second maternity leave as a teacher. She had also opted out of her insurance plan to bring the much needed cash flow back into the house upon returning to work earlier this year.”
“The Doula Group, a collective of doulas in Simcoe County & York Region, serve women and their families of the area but as a Doula Trainer, I travel throughout Canada, the US and Europe which is how I met Sarah and her family. As a group, we decided to create this campaign #ForSarahsKids as a legacy to their mother that they can look back on. Sarah was a mother, daughter, teacher, doula, comedienne, sister and more. Her story touches us because she could have been any one of us.”
For more information visit www.thedoulagroup.ca or www.facebook.com/thedoulagroup

By Wendy Gabrek