Community rallies around Toronto teacher, raises thousands of dollars to make home accessible
Toronto teacher Karyn Bugelli recently found out that she was cancer-free. However, the news came at a cost.
Bugelli has worked as a teacher and counsellor at Malvern Collegiate Institute in the city’s east end for the last fifteen years.
After enduring months of back pain, beginning in October, Bugelli knew something was awry.
“It started with average back pain that I felt when I was trying to lift something or move quickly,” Bugelli told CTV News Toronto Friday.
After trying appointments with chiropractors, physiotherapists, and acupuncture, she still wasn’t getting any relief from the pain. It would be nearly four more months until Bugelli’s doctors told her that she had a tumour on her T-12 vertebrae.
She was officially diagnosed with a rare form of cancer — osteosarcoma — at Micheal Garron Hospital in Toronto in February.
At first, Bugelli was set up on a strict chemotherapy regimen, but after developing a severe infection that landed her in the hospital once again, it was decided that surgery was the best option.
“Basically, I needed a huge operation that could take out the tumour within healthy margins and rebuild my back,” she said.
As a result of the operation, Bugelli’s spinal cord had to be severed and she now requires a wheelchair in order to be mobile.
“It's obviously not the decision we wanted to have to make, but ... for me, it wasn't really a decision because of my family,” she said.
“Do I want to be alive with my kids and give up my legs, or do I want maybe another two or three or four or five years of walking? It was never a choice.”
The operation was deemed successful and Bugelli is now cancer-free. However, renovations to her home are needed in order to allow for mobility and independence.
“Our plan is that we're digging out the basement so that it is livable space. Of course, we've got to modify the kitchen a little bit better for us. We have to redo the bathroom because … you know, there's no way I'd ever fit and be able to do everything,” she said.
“We're gonna make this work. I will find a way.”
That's when Bugelli's community rallied around her and ensured some stability.
A GoFundMe started to help Bugelli and her family cover the costs of the necessary renovations has amassed just under $50,000.
She says the support has been “overwhelming.”
“From the second we found out, the street that we live on reached out and put together a meal plan for us. They dropped off meals twice a week,” she said.
“People signed up to bring us food, which was so helpful because I had so many appointments. The neighbours are taking our dog out for good runs, so that’s one less thing we have to worry about.”
Although Malvern Collegiate Institute is a "very old school," Toronto District School Board says they are doing what they can to ensure it is accesible for Bugelli upon her return.
The whole experience has changed Bugelli’s outlook on life, she says.
“It certainly wakens you to how short life can be and how random it really is," she said.
"My school and the community has been wonderful."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Drive one of these vehicles? You may pay 37 per cent more than average insurance costs due to thefts
As the number of auto theft incidents rises in Canada, so have insurance premiums for drivers, even the ones whose vehicles aren't stolen.
'I'm not wealthy': Ontario senior shocked she owes $40,000 in capital gains after gifting land
An Ontario senior who wanted to help her daughter and grandson eventually own homes one day decided to give them two lots on her property as a gift—but she didn’t know it would eventually cost her tens of thousands of dollars.
NDP want Liberals to scrap proposed election date change that could secure pensions for many MPs
The federal New Democrats want to amend the Liberal government's electoral reform legislation to scrap the proposal to push back the vote by a week and consequently secure pensions for dozens of MPs, CTV News has learned.
Supreme Court won't hear appeal in Montreal brainwashing experiments case
The Supreme Court of Canada will not review a Quebec ruling that bars people from suing the U.S. government in Canada over its role in notorious brainwashing experiments at a Montreal psychiatric hospital.
Video shows driver in Toronto frantically getting out of car being pushed by truck
A CP24 camera caught the moment a driver frantically got out of her car as it was being dragged by a truck on Avenue Road Wednesday afternoon.
These are the world's 20 best cities for foodies, according to Time Out
Some travellers pick a city break based on the destination’s cultural offerings. Others eye up cities with buzzy nightlife or opt for a destination hosting a festival or event. But for many vacationers, the most exciting part of any trip is the food.
Israeli centrist party proposes vote to dissolve parliament
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz's centrist party proposed on Thursday holding a parliamentary vote on dissolving the parliament, but it was unclear whether he had enough support to bring about an early election.
Exorbitant fees get Gazans out with no help from Ottawa
The comforting sound of giggling grandchildren has chased away the cloud of anxiety that has loomed over Mohammed and Intisar Nofal's home for the past seven months.
Largest vaccine production plant in Canada opens in Toronto
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is announcing the opening of a major vaccine production plant in Toronto today — part of Canada's efforts to build up the domestic biomanufacturing sector in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.