$400K raised for sick mom

Photo: Facebook - Leah's Fight is Our Fight

Over $400,000 was raised to help Leah Wiebe's fight against Leukemia.

An entire community has rallied around a sick mother of two, raising over $400,000 for a new treatment trial in Seattle.

Leah Wiebe, a 29-year-old Terrace woman, was diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of leukemia in spring 2016, and has been battling the disease for over a year.

After several treatments proved ineffective, doctors determined that Wiebe's only remaining option was to try a new treatment, CAR T-cell therapy, that's offered at the Fred Hutch Cancer Centre in Seattle.

Doctors gave Wiebe mere weeks to live, but the Fred Hutch Cancer Centre required a $650,000 deposit to cover anticipated expenses before she could be admitted.

Several Terrace businesses rallied around the cause, hosting fundraisers, and thousands of people donated money.

A YouCaring crowd funding page has raised over $312,000 while a separate GoFundMe page has raised over $54,000. All combined, total donations reached more than $400,000.

While an unbelievable amount, it still wasn't the needed $650,000, but on July 13, the government stepped in to help.

The Ministry of Health reviewed Wiebe's case and approved funding for her out-of-country medical expenses.

With this announcement, Wiebe will be heading to Seattle to take part in the trial, and will use some of the funds raised to pay for accommodations, travel and the cost of living while in Seattle.

Wiebe's future is still very much uncertain.

“If it turns out that Leah is healed/cured the remaining funds beyond Ryan and Leah's immediate family needs will be given to help other Leukemia patients who find themselves facing the same life threatening financial challenges Ryan and Leah faced,” wrote Leah's family on her YouCaring fundraising page Monday.

“We are very grateful for everything that all of you have done to help save Leah and help her family.”