Fundraiser set to help family survive financially
GARSON—The Charlie and Nancy Marinier (nee Pearson of Mindemoya) family of Garson have had plenty of hard luck and heartbreak in the past year, as they deal with another difficult time beginning this year.
“We are doing as well as we can,” said Ms. Marinier. “We are leaning on family, friends and neighbours.”
The past year has been one filled with tragedy, with several deaths in the family, and then in December Charlie found out he has stage three colorectal cancer.
The couple was married in 2006. “I’m originally from Mindemoya, the Pearson family,” said Ms. Marinier. Her parents are (Alvin) (predeceased) and Eileen (McMurray) Pearson from Mindemoya.
“Last March, my husband lost his best friend of over 20 years, Gary (aged 59),” said Ms. Marinier. “Then in May I lost my oldest son Carter, (age 31) and in July my husband lost his oldest son, Anthony. Eleven days later my husband (who is originally from Sudbury) lost his mother, Rachelle, aged 75.”
“It has been a lot, it has been a tough year,” stated Ms. Marinier, explaining, “just before Christmas my husband Charlie found out he has stage three colorectal cancer. We both took a bit of time off work, and now Charlie is going to be off for a year with surgery and treatments.” Charlie works for Browns Concrete of Sudbury while Nancy works at Costco.
“This is a huge financial hit for us since we both needed time off last year to grieve our children and mother. We still have three children, 28, 17 and 16. The youngest two are still at home,” said Nancy.
Nancy Lehto, Charlie’s cousin has set up a GoFundMe campaign for the family. He recently undertook his first surgery (January 18) and is expected to need two more surgeries.
Ms. Marinier explained that her husband is currently being treated in Sudbury. “He will be doing immunotherapy instead of chemotherapy because his tumour has a special marker and chemotherapy is not the best option for him. His oncologist has conferred with oncologists at Princess Margaret (Hospital) in Toronto, and because his tumour is so advanced, regional lymph nodes are involved, and he cannot have surgery to remove the tumour before treatments. He is a candidate for immunotherapy here in Sudbury.”
Charlie’s surgery in January was to install an ileostomy device (waste bag attached to the abdomen),” said Nancy. The surgery went well but there were also some complications that required her husband to back to the hospital.
“He got out of the hospital for a couple of days and then had to go back to hospital a couple of days later in an ambulance,” said Nancy. She said Charlie will need at least two more surgeries, one to remove the tumour and lymph nodes and then one to reverse the ileostomy. “We are hopeful he will not be off of work for more than a year, but we will see how things go.”
In her description on the GoFundMe campaign she set up, Ms. Lehto said the funds are important to help Charlie and his family meet their normal expenses since he is expected to be off work for possibly a year.
“The amount of heartbreak that the family has suffered in 2024 is already way too much,” wrote Ms. Lehto, outlining the tragedies the family had to endure in 2024.
“Charlie and Nancy still have three children, two of them teenagers at home who require their finances and attention,” wrote Ms. Lehto. “They also have a mortgage to keep up along with vehicles and all the other bills we all have in our daily lives.”
“The goal of the GoFundMe fundraising campaign is $20,000,” said Nancy, who moved to Garson in 2004 and married Charlie in 2006. If things weren’t hard enough on the family, Nancy sent an email last Friday, noting “Just a little update. We need a new furnace. Costing almost $9,000.”
