Advertisement

Jenni Burke fundraiser quickly exceeds goals

A Nova Scotia community is rallying around a new mother facing a sudden health crisis and the effort is seeing a level of success her friends never imagined.

Jenni and her husband Tony Burke had their second little girl in early November. A week later the 34-year-old mother suffered a massive stroke.

She was in intensive care for weeks, requiring surgeries to relieve pressure on her brain. The next step was the Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre, to learn to walk, and to live with paralysis on her left side.

Anne Marie West has known Jenni Burke for 13 years.

"She's awesome. She's a super good friend," West said. "She's friendly. She's an awesome mom. She's great."

West says seeing Burke apart from her children has been difficult to witness.

"She has a three-year-old daughter, and it breaks my heart that she has to be away from her," she said. " And for her to be missing out on the first months of her newborn baby's life, you know, it's hard. It's hard to see."

Suzanne Wilson says Burke's friends have been doing what they can to help.

"Between all of us going in and seeing Jenni, or going to help Tony with the baby girls, we've been all non-stop with each other helping the both of them," she said.

With Tony off work to care for his daughters, money has been tight, so friends started an online fundraiser to help relieve the financial pressure.

Appeal launched Saturday

"We just want to make sure they don't have to worry about it down the road," Wilson said. "You know, Tony does have to do some adjustments to their home, to help Jenni for when she does arrive. So we want to make that easier for him, and just make the whole process of this easier."

The appeal launched Saturday morning and has taken off.

It's unbelievable," West said. "We set out to raise about $10,000 and that $10,000 was met in 12 hours. And it's doubled since then. So it's awesome."

Burke worked at a hair salon where colleagues say her story has resonated with people who know her.

"You're terrified something can happen to you and then all at once it did for them," said Crystal Allen. "So I believe that's when the community gets behind people, when you see that they're in need."

Burke hopes to come home full time from the rehab centre in early April.

The fundraiser surpassed $24,000 Monday evening and continues climbing.