TEAM GAVIN
I was initially introduced to Light The Night by my cousin Sharon, who is a nurse like myself and my mum. When I was diagnosed with Lymphoma, I wasn't afraid to share what I was going through. Eventually, after receiving a few questions about my diagnosis, I took to social media to let everyone know what was happening in my life. Shortly thereafter, people started reaching out to me, I was overwhelmed by the support I was receiving from my friends and family. That’s when Team Gavin started and later connected to me Light The Night. Team Gavin’s approach was to turn something negative into a positive, and show the power of community coming together. To fundraise for Light The Night, one of the clothing companies I work for (on the side) decided to put together a "Team Gavin" support pack, which featured an iPhone background, and hoodies. From there, the fundraiser began.
The biggest challenge for me was the treatments. This affected me physically, mentally and emotionally. There were a lot of symptoms and side effects that I experienced that made me extremely uncomfortable. For example, I was bloated all the time, and it was hard to want to eat or do anything. That was one of the side effects that affected my daily living, because my whole body would be bothered. It was also just shocking to find out about the diagnosis. The first week of finding out was the toughest emotional week I’ve ever experienced. It was so integral for me to have a support system of family and friends to help me through it. Being confined to a room makes you lose your sanity just a bit, but with the right mindset we were able to power through.
I am now much more mindful of my health. I drink water, I eat better, and I go to the gym, which I never thought I would say, because I’m a relatively lazy person, but it makes all the difference for me. I also learned not to take anything for granted. I learned very quickly that life is too short. And in spite of everything, there are some things that I was really grateful for. It brought me back closer to my family, and especially to my mom. She's a breast cancer survivor, so she really understood what to expect and how to be there for me, and to support me. I’m very grateful for the community who supported me through this experience and joined Team Gavin. Without them, I wouldn’t have had such a positive outlook throughout the journey.
Light The Night and Team Gavin are about bringing the community together and investing in our future. It is about highlighting the power of science and ending cancer for good through research and community support.
Despite it being really difficult, my experience going through treatment and the support from my healthcare providers has changed me as a person and in a sense I’m proud of it. My last month at Vancouver General Hospital was the toughest, but I had all the things I needed. I was fortunate to have my mom by my side throughout the whole process and to be able to access all the programs, resources, and support I did for both my physical and mental health. My mental state would have been so different without all of the amazing support I received from everyone in the community. This wasn’t just a battle between me and Lymphoma, it was a team effort. Team Gavin till the end!
Our team photo was taken by @haydenmusicmedia.
