KIm Bannon Evinsky knows the tragedy of losing a loved one can never be fully overcome.
But the former Richmond resident knows plenty can be done to make remembering them a positive step forward.
It’s a philosophy she will employ this weekend as every kilometre ticks by on the Ride to Conquer Cancer fundraising event from Vancouver to Seattle.
It will be her third time on the ride since her husband, Paul, died of a brain tumour in 2012.
“We’d been married for 35 years and had three teenaged kids,” said Bannon Evinsky who now lives in Ontario, but has flown back to the West Coast each time to take part in the event as part of the Brainiacs team that was founded in 2009 in B.C. by four brain cancer survivors.
“Losing Paul was pretty emotional, tragic and totally unexpected,” Bannon Evinsky said. “He was just 55. He ran the Boston Marathon in 2011. He was the healthiest, fittest guy you would ever know.
“It was a shock to all of us.”
The first indications of an illness came when Paul suffered a seizure at work that left him unresponsive for 22 hours. The neurosurgeons said they were 95 per cent sure it was the result of an infection, said Bannon Evinsky.
So, he was treated with antibiotics for six weeks, but each time he visited the doctors they told him the infection was growing.
“Finally, they sent us to the hospital to get the infection drained and the neurosurgeon came in and said he felt it was a tumour that was in a place where you couldn’t operate,” she said.
To confirm the doctor’s suspicions a biopsy was performed. But by the time that was done, the tumour had grown so much that Paul never regained full consciousness.
“The very first MRI only showed a very small spot on his brain,” said Bannon Evinsky. “Then we had to wait so many weeks until they diagnosed him properly with what was a very fast-growing, aggressive cancer.”
Although Paul was not conscious, Bannon Evinsky continued to talk to him from his bedside in the hospital. But as the tumour continued to grow, he gradually slipped away.
“He never spoke and he never opened his eyes,” she said. “But before, he had told the kids to remain strong in our strong faith as a Christian family, and that he’d see them again one day.”
The idea to get rolling with a cycling team in the Ride to Conquer Cancer came after Bannon Evinsky’s brother, Garth McFadden, encouraged her to learn more about the Brainiacs team he had joined and started fundraising for through his business networking contacts.
As she watched her brother at one fundraising event it became apparent to her to play a role, too.
“But I hadn’t been on a bike for 20 years,” she said. “I was 30 pounds overweight, and it started to eat away at me that I had to be involved.”
So, she started riding a bike indoors in her home in Ontario, later bought a road bike and started to train by herself on a daily basis.
She then flew back out to Vancouver to take part in her first ride with her brother.
That was two years ago, and the motivation still burns bright in her mind.
“I needed to be a leader for my kids and show them what can be done,” said Bannon Evinsky.
Today, she’s joined on the ride by her new husband, Joe Evinsky, who rides in memory of his mother who died of cancer six years ago.
“I went through a difficult time, but I wanted to get some meaning and purpose from all of this tragedy,” said Bannon Evinsky.“While it can never be truly turned into something positive — it’s always something I will live with — doing good and trying to find a cure for cancer has been a huge encouragement for me.”
For more about the Ride to Conquer Cancer, visit conquercancer.ca.
