Pat McCormack

Patricia (Pat) McCormack was the best friend and wife to her late husband, the mother of four children and Nana to four grandchildren. She loved family get togethers, making holidays and birthdays special, spoiling her grandchildren, playing Kinsmen Bingo, going to her cabin in the Nopiming Provincial Park and taking her beloved dog Will out for long walks. In the fall of 2018 Pat was not feeling well. She felt run down and she ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. She recovered from pneumonia, but still didn’t feel herself. She was tired, constantly catching bad colds, and had trouble finding the energy to do all of her regular activities.

In the spring of 2019, she developed pneumonia again. She knew something wasn’t right with her. She pushed for the doctors to find out what was going on. When they were finally able to determine the cause, we were devastated to know that she was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome. They attempted chemotherapy treatments and we held our breath hoping and praying that there would be positive results. In August her doctor advised that the treatments were making her too sick and vulnerable to infections. Her body wasn’t strong enough to fight off the infections and she couldn’t continue with treatment unless she could stay healthy. There was nothing more they could do. They delivered the news no one wanted to hear. That she would have 3 to 6 months left to live, maybe more with blood transfusions.

From then on Pat was in and out of the hospital. The common cold could drain her completely. Without healthy blood cells she was vulnerable to any sort of cold or flu. She fought hard to maintain her active life. She was the life of our family. She hosted every holiday dinner and event from Christmas to Pumpkin Carving contests at Halloween and Easter egg hunts in the spring. These events were heavily anticipated by everyone. She was her grandchildren’s biggest cheerleader. She would come to watch and cheer them on at any of their activities from Hockey to soccer, Metis jigging to even just coming to watch them swim laps in the pool. The MDS drained her energy. She was no longer able to attend these events or even travel to her cabin she built with her late husband.

As the cancer progressed she spent more and more time in the hospital as her immune system became weaker and weaker. The week before Christmas she went in to the hospital. They initially told us she would be there for about a week. We hoped that she would be out for Christmas so that we could have that one last holiday with her. Her condition weakened. Her body was no longer able to accept the blood transfusions. As much as she didn’t want to leave us, she slowly slipped away from us. On January 9th, 2020 she lost her battle with MDS. There is a hole in our hearts that can never be filled. The feeling of something missing at every family get together. We walk to honour her memory and recognize the hard battle she fought.

We walk because we want to make a difference so other families don’t have to lose their family members and loved ones. We walk because we love her and miss her every day.