Shannon Hutchinson has had a grim run of heartache that nobody should ever have to endure.It’s bad enough that she and her mother are grieving the death of their father and husband, respectively. He succumbed suddenly due to respiratory failure in early October at the age of 67.Besides being like a best friend to Hutchinson, her dad was indispensible to her mother, who suffers from a fear of open spaces. He handled everything outside the home, including grocery shopping and paying bills.Since his death, Hutchinson has stepped into her father’s role as much as somebody can while working and raising her two teenagers.However, her mother suffered two strokes, then was released from hospital into Hutchinson’s care pending major surgery in mid-April. Her mother is living in Hutchinson’s rental home in Comox, staying in her 13-year-old son’s room while he sleeps on the couch.Why is this necessary when Hutchinson’s mother is uncomfortable anywhere outside the “sanctuary” of her own home?Her husband was trying to repair their currently unlivable home when he died. He hadn’t finished one inside wall around a window, so that wall needs to be insulated and drywalled.A chimney inspector said the woodstove is unsafe and needs to be removed. As if this weren’t bad enough, water has damaged the chimney and the area around it. There’s a hole in the roof.Hutchinson left her job so she would have more time to care for her mom and fix up the home, but it’s becoming too much to deal with on her own while her boyfriend works in Fort McMurray, and the rest of her family lives far away.She is asking for in-kind donations of building materials or labour to help repair her mother’s home after struggling on her own for months.If you have any relevant skills and some time to spare, you could make a huge difference to this local family that’s been through the wringer.Call 250-792-2878 to volunteer.editor@comoxvalleyrecord.com

Comox Valley Record