SPOKANE, Wash. — A Benton County family is making Spokane their temporary home after their 14-year-old was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Her mother says the cancer diagnosis seemingly came out of nowhere just a few days into her first year of high school.
“A very small pain we thought was overworked muscles…was actually Acute Myeloid Leukemia,” Carrie Norton said. “She was four days into her freshman year”.
Norton says her daughter Victoreah is very tough. She knew when her daughter said something just didn’t feel right that she needed to be checked out by a doctor. The call confirming their worst fears came amid a family celebration.
“I get a phone call from the oncologist that says we need to take her to Spokane,” Norton said.
“(I told them) she’s having her birthday party; do we need to do it now and they said yes. We came up September 1st so, we have been here all of September, October, November, December. We are hoping to go home beginning of March.”
True home is roughly three hours away in Finley. But for now, it’s their RV. It can accommodate even their beloved furry family member that has been a source of so much comfort for Victoreah’s siblings.
“This is home,” Norton said showing ‘Help Me Hayley’ the grounds.
“This is what allows Victoreah’s sister to have her dog. I pulled her out of school and everything she knows.”
But there is nowhere else in the world loved ones would rather be than close to Victoreah.
Friends and family heard of the family’s situation and were eager to help.
Norton’s oldest daughter set up a fundraising page. Their donations ensured Carrie, and her husband could make ends meet. Their community responded quickly, and donations were being regularly deposited into her account.
“(Initially there were) no issues,” Norton said. “(Donations) were coming in. Friends, family, teachers, everybody, business owners in our community.”
The family was overwhelmed with gratitude. But then earlier this month, there was a snag in the process. A large donation after a fundraiser that came in on the page wasn’t getting deposited into Norton’s account.
“Rent comes due here (for the RV space), we have a mortgage at home,” she said.
Norton says she was told she needed to verify her banking info. It’s all part of their efforts to make sure everything is legit and secure. Norton was confused because for weeks, she had been able to get donations without issue.
“That begins the nightmare of well over a week to figure it out,” she said. “They told me the bank statement I sent them from the account I’ve had for 20 years did not match the information they had.”
Bills, stress and worry were all pilling up. That’s when she met with our ‘Help Me Hayley.’
“We don’t have answers right now,” Norton said. “We shouldn’t have to go and try to chase down this money we desperately need. And then have to admit that yeah, we desperately need it. There are bills to pay. I couldn’t pick up a grocery order for my kids.”
Hayley reached out to the organization and per the family’s wishes, the just over $1,000 that had been in limbo and not yet deposited into Norton’s account is being refunded to the donors.
That process Hayley confirmed is already underway with refunds either already completed or in the process right now.
Norton says she feels grateful for those who have wanted to help them.
“Super amazing community,” she said of Finley.
Victoreah’s 14th birthday decor at their Finley home remains, several weeks after they abruptly packed up and left for Spokane. Norton says she will remain up, ready for a party re-do.
“I told her it may be her 14th and 15th, but we will celebrate with the same decorations,” she said.
A GoFundMe spokesperson released the following statement about the situation.
“At GoFundMe, being a safe and trusted place to give and receive help is our top priority. To do this, we must comply with the requirements of our payment processors, which may result in our Trust & Safety team requesting additional documentation to verify accounts. Our teams work to review and verify fundraisers as quickly and safely as possible.”
If you would like to help Victoreah, Carrie Norton or other local families battling cancer, you can connect with the nonprofit: https://cccnw.org/ or donations can be mailed to them at 202 E Spokane Falls Blvd Suite 301 Spokane, WA 99202. CCNW asks that you please mention Victoreah/Carrie Norton by name if you’d like donations to specially go to their family. Spokane, WA 99202.
