A mother of three in Nanaimo, B.C., says she’s grateful for the kindness of her community, which banded together to hang Christmas lights on her home this year and has fundraised to help her keep it.
Cindra Caverley is battling stage 4 breast cancer, and in May, her husband Bruce died after a hard-fought battle with urethral carcinoma.
The Christmas light tradition is important to her children who wanted the lights “to be bright enough for him to see it from heaven.”
“Bruce was an incredible father, an incredible husband and he loved Christmas,” Caverley told Global News.
“This is something he used to work on all by himself, and we thought this year would be our last year to kind of do it all up for him.”
Friends and neighbours got up on ladders this week to help hang lights on the roof and trees, and place whimsical statues on the front lawn.
Lynn McCauley, who taught all three Caverley children in preschool, said she wanted to repay the kindness the family has shown the community and celebrate Bruce’s life.
“We were moving from the church — Brechin United Church — and I’ll never forget that day because Bruce came with his truck, with the two children and said, ‘Ms. Lynn, we are here to help you move,'” she recalled.
“He was the most incredible young man, a great dad and always a great community person.”
Recent fundraisers for the family — including an auction and a new GoFundMe campaign — have also raised thousands to help them pay the bills.
Caverley is unable to work and is on limited disability and terminal benefits.
“We really want to try and stay in this home for a couple more years, just to keep some stability for the kids,” she explained. “Our community has always surrounded us and lifted us up and taken care of us.”
The family says they love and miss Bruce, and want to rebuild one day at a time.
Comments