Almost four years ago, everything changed for the Therriault family.
In February 2021, Maggie, the oldest daughter of Jennifer Therriault, was diagnosed with necrotizing pancreatitis after several misdiagnoses of her gallbladder.
"She spent four months in hospital during Covid times. It was very stressful," said Jennifer. "She ended up spending almost three weeks in the ICU. She went code blue and had a 30 per cent chance to live."
Maggie, who had just turned 20, ended up beating the odds and surviving. A doctor suggested to Jennifer that she have her 14-year-old daughter Olivia take an ultrasound to check for gall stones.
Although no stones were found, Olivia ended up having an MRI and CT scan, which led to the discovery of a large tumor against her spinal cord and adrenal gland. However, a biopsy showed that the tumor was benign.
Maggie ended up being out of hospital for three months before returning as she continued to have pancreatic attacks and gall stone issues. This led to the removal of her gallbladder and another one-month stay in hospital.
"Her determination and will to fight through a disease that probably would have taken her life by now is something remarkable," added Jennifer.
Olivia was in hospital at the same time to have her tumor removed, which brought a lot of stress to the family. After their hospital stays, the girls spent most of the summer going through physio, appointments, and figuring out pain medications.
Throughout 2023 Maggie was in hospital several more times due to infections, blood clots, and fluid buildup in her lungs and abdomen from a nicked lymph node.
In April 2024 it was discovered that Maggie would need a multi-visceral transplant to replace her liver, bowel, portal vein, stomach, and pancreas. According to Jennifer, Maggie is the 21st person in Canada to receive a transplant of this type.
"I am a single mom, who was working up to three jobs to keep a roof over our heads and meet all the needs medically, physically, emotionally, and mentally," said Jennifer. "However, I have recently had to leave my main position that provided our benefits and bulk of our income for the month."
Before Maggie can have her transplant, she will need to bring her pain down through a specialist. After not being able to get into a pain clinic, Jennifer reached out to MLA Chantelle de Jonge, Premier Danielle Smith, and Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange.
"As of Tuesday, Maggie finally got into the pain clinic for the first time, which is great because that will get us closer to the transplant."
Jennifer says that the transplant is a $1.1 million procedure. However, the family will only need to cover between $30,000 and $50,000 of the costs. Because of this, family friend Hailey Sutherland has stepped forward, creating a GoFundMe for the family.
"Anyone who knows Maggie will say that she is one of the kindest people you will ever meet," wrote Sutherland. "She is a loyal friend and has been there for me since the day we met back in third grade."
Since starting in June, the fundraiser has already garnered over $11,000 towards the transplant. The family has also participated in bottle drives and other fundraising methods to help cover the costs.
"I have to be strong for my girls," said Jennifer. "Maggie has such an angelic spirit that her strength actually gives me strength to keep going. For what she's going through, she's remarkable."
You can donate to help the Therriault family through the GoFundMe page.