ROB MURRAY: I’m speaking with Chandra Crawford. How are you doing today?

CHANDRA CRAWFORD: I’m well, thanks. Happy to see snow and be in Canmore, and get the chance to chat with you about some great people.

RM: We’re here today to talk about…I think it was a former teammate of yours on the cross-country side of things?

CC: That’s right, Amanda and I went to the 2006 and 2014 Olympics together.

RM: Amanda and her husband, Chris, they have a little girl named Frankie who’s been going through some pretty serious health challenges.

CC: Our dear friends Chris and Amanda Butler here in Canmore – their seven month old daughter, Frankie, has a very aggressive cancer.

RM: There was a gofundme created about a week ago now and you’ve pretty much doubled your goal so far, haven’t you?

CC: It’s been a great response. The goal was $40,000 for this family as they go through what’s going to be a very big process with their little girl. 1300 shares across social media and amazing turnout. Chris is actually from Thunder Bay, Ontario, and his family is there as well. Chris and Amanda ski raced together, we all ski raced together. We were just teenagers when we first were out roller skiing up and down the hills here, training for our Olympic dreams, so their community is all over Canada.

RM: That’s great to see the fundraising goals have been going so well. How’s little Frankie doing?

CC: It’s just devastating. It is so sad. I encourage everyone, when you find the gofundme, to look at the pictures of this big-eyed, tiny girl in her little hospital bed, sucking her thumb with her little blanket. What an adorable baby. It’s so sad to hear about her very aggressive cancer. She’s looking at big time chemotherapy and even her long-term prospects are very uncertain, so another good reason to donate to this family, but Frankie actually had a very good day yesterday and was playing with her toys. I’m a mom now. I have three kids – a four year old, a two-and-a-half year old, and a nine months old baby, so I know what people listening want to hear. How is the baby? Can mom and dad hold her? Yes, Grandpa Frank, who she’s named after, gets to hold her, and Chris and Amanda get to hold her every day. They’re at the Ronald McDonald House in Calgary. She’s doing quite well, all things considered. She has a shunt that is draining fluid after her surgery for the six centimetre long tumor in her brain, but it’s a wonderful when she has a good day.

RM: How are Amanda and Chris holding up through all this?

CC: Amanda and Chris are being strong for their little girl. Chris is an electrician in Banff and Amanda is a Chinese medicine and acupuncture doctor at Back At It Massage. They’re not going to be able to work for a long time and that’s the main focus, that they don’t have to work. We know they’re stuck in Calgary at the Ronald McDonald House but being strong and being as positive as they can in this awful, awful time.

RM: I always say that when there are community members here in the Bow Valley who need a little help, our community comes through. I think this is just a perfect example of that. People just are continuing to support this family in this really tough time.

CC: Yes, definitely, and how does that feel? In this awful pandemic, everything’s so uncertain, the world is a mess, and then a beautiful little baby has awful cancer and you feel so powerless. I personally felt really good when I could make my donation on the gofundme and do one little thing to maybe make them breathe a little easier. A bit more time to be focusing on Frankie now and into the future.

We have to give some shout-outs to some local businesses – there’s a Chef George and Paintbox Lodge donation coming together. CrossFit Canmore was doing a fundraiser. Le Fournil donated 50% of gross sales and all their tips the other day. Those really stand out to me. If you are hearing this and you think “I could do something,” do your whole idea, and then just send the money through the gofundme or you can drop things at Back At It Massage. Vanessa, the owner of Back At It Massage where Amanda works, is working really hard. She has a whole team of people, almost another full-time job, on how we can support the family in a coordinated way. You can send an email. #FightForFrankie is getting going on Instagram, local Marie-Eve has made a logo and there’s t-shirts coming. You can give cards and well wishes right there on the gofundme, or you can drop it Back At It Massage and they will get to Amanda and Chris and beautiful baby Frankie.

Filed under: Canmore, Fundraiser