Flavio NienowLakes District News
Jaden Simone West, 12, walked approximately 90 km last week to support people battling cancer.
West said she was inspired by Terry Fox to walk from Burns Lake to Nadleh Whut’en First Nation reserve. She successfully completed the walk in three days.
The money raised was donated to Michelle Ketlo, who’s currently battling cancer, and to the husband of Alana Ketlo, who recently passed away. Alana’s husband, Jason Collins, donated his late wife’s portion to the oncology department of the St. John Hospital in Vanderhoof. The oncology department helped Alana during her finals days.
Tina Auchstaetter, St. John Hospital’s oncology coordinator, said hospital staff were “immensely grateful.”
“Such an inspiration for a young little girl,” she said. “For her little legs to walk 90 km in three days, not being trained for it… in the past, I’ve walked 100 km raising awareness and money, but I had trained for it; I definitely know how hard it is.”
“The donation will help us buy things that will make our patients more comfortable,” she added.
West’s proud dad, Nick Erickson, said that when West thought about giving up, she told herself that the pain was temporary and that cancer patients go through much worse pain. “She did the walk because she wanted to make a difference,” he said.