CALGARY- A High River family hopes their heartbreak can lead to something positive, by helping others who have been impacted by cancer.
Kimberlee Skilliter received the best possible news last year, when she found out she was pregnant. But the joy was short lived, when the 31-year-old found out just weeks later that she also had cancer.
“She found a lump in her left breast and they went in and did a biopsy,” remembers her husband, Mike Elliott. “While she was pregnant with Dakota, she had three different surgeries…to remove lumps from her breast.”
Just 12 hours after little Dakota was born, Skilliter underwent a full mastectomy. Chemotherapy was ordered next, but it wasn’t enough.
She died last May, eight months after giving birth.
“It’s the worst thing in the world to lose a parent of a small child like that. It’s just horrible,” Elliott says.
Over the past year, friends and family have been trying to help Elliott cope with the loss. As a way to honour Skilliter’s memory, they’re now focusing on other families going through a similar situation, by planning a memorial slo-pitch tournament.
“Not only is it a way to raise money for other families that are dealing with cancer, it’s a way to help Dakota remember her mom,” explains Elliott’s cousin, Fraser Elliott.
The tournament is scheduled for July 4-6 in Okotoks, with proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society’s compassionate care fund. Click here for more information.
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