He carries his children in his pocket, his initials on his wrist.
Love anchors this mother, even as Nicole MacHattie’s world turns upside down.
“I’ll live in my car, I’ll spend every penny if that means I can be with my kids,” MacHattie said.
He is struggling for longer, time to guide his son and daughter, watching them grow.
Her husband committed suicide 3 years ago.
MacHattie now has stage four colon cancer.
“It’s horrible. It’s the worst news you can imagine,” he said.
Since his diagnosis last April, he has had chemo, surgery and more chemo. The cancer spread and his options narrowed.
“I was told it didn’t work. It’s incurable. If you’re lucky and you can find a clinical trial you can participate in, you may have a chance,” he said.
Clinical trials did not come out, so it will go to the United States
Friends are raising tens of thousands of dollars to cover their treatment.
And on Sunday night they have a party in the kitchen.
“There’s nothing I or her tribe won’t do to help her. She’s struggling in this fight with so much tenacity, grace and humor,” said her friend Stacia Hatherly.
MacHattie wants patients like her to have more options and wants home screening to start sooner.
“If the screening was 45 or even 40, which makes more sense because we see more and more young people suffering from colon cancer, I would have found myself in a completely different situation than I am now,” MacHattie said.
A mother who wants her children to have a father.
“When you have two children who trust you and are just your heart and soul, you have to do everything you can to support them. They’ve been through a lot,” MacHattie said.
“They’re already losing their father, losing me too. It’s not happening.”