Are You Covered?

*Disclaimer*
Through discussions within our team, we have decided to start a blog to discuss some of the stories and situations that have personally touched our lives and the lives of the people around us, which also relate to the work that we do. Financial planning is not just about numbers, charts, and graphs – it's about the financial security of people’s lives, and the real-life scenarios that we see and hear about every day. Please be aware that we will be covering sensitive topics, and we understand that this content may be emotionally triggering – especially if someone you know, and love has dealt with something similar. With this in mind, we also feel that it is important to talk about the human, personal side of financial planning and why believe it’s so important.

*This first blog post is a personal story from my own family. Names and some small details have been changed for privacy’s sake.

My brother-in-law, Lee, was 39 years old. A self-employed graphic designer who had worked hard for many years to build a successful business which was now thriving. My sister, Emma, was also self-employed, having given up a previous unfulfilling nine-to-five job to pursue her real passion as a yoga instructor. Together they had built a beautiful life on the lake on Saltspring Island with their 12-year-old daughter, Alana. It was a story book life and love.

They had mutual crushes on each other in high school, but never admitted it to their friends or each other. Emma was one of the “cool” popular girls, usually going out with very handsome older guys who drove fast cars. Lee was popular too but hung with a different crowd. He was kind, quiet, artistic…but there had always been an electricity between them – some kind of undeniable connection. It wasn’t until more than a decade after high school that they came back into each other’s lives when someone recommended Lee as a graphic designer to help Emma with the branding for her business. As they sat next to each other in Lee’s office at that first business meeting, out of nowhere, Emma blurted out “I love you” then fumbled over her words trying to explain that she just meant that he was so smart - brilliant with the designs he had come up with for her, and such a kind person. At their next graphic design meeting, they held hands for a long time, and before Emma left, they shared their first kiss.

No one was there the first time that Lee had a seizure, and he had no memory of what had happened. Based on the damage - his over-turned computer, debris from his desk all over the floor, and a large gouge to the wall where the desk had hit - it had been violent. He started losing feeling in his right hand and getting debilitating headaches, but it would take months to get any answers as to why these things were happening. When he was finally taken in for scans and testing after the third seizure, they found a tumour the size of an apple on his brain. It was shocking, and terrifying. All we could hope for was that it would be benign – that it could be removed, and life would go back to normal. When the biopsy was done, our worst fears were confirmed – it was a glioblastoma tumour – aggressive brain cancer with a very low survival rate.

Lee could no longer work, and Emma’s job had now become caretaker. He couldn’t be alone – the seizures were too dangerous. The pressure on his brain was severe and making him so physically ill that all Emma could do was try to keep him as comfortable as possible. He underwent multiple surgeries and aggressive chemotherapy within those first couple of months, but nothing was working. Lee and Emma decided that they needed to look at alternative treatments – do everything possible so that he would live – but alternative treatments were very costly. Being the sister who works in financial planning, we had discussed their insurance needs before, but it hadn’t felt like a priority for them at the time since they were both so young and healthy. They had gotten some life insurance when they bought their first home together, but realistically it wasn’t going to be enough if something were to happen to either of them – because we never think we’re the ones that something is going to happen to - it won’t be our family. Until it is.

Lee had always been a proud, and private man. He didn’t want everyone in their community feeling sorry for him and didn’t want to ask for help. Now that neither of them could work, I knew they were blowing through their savings to keep up with their regular household expenses, never mind all the medications, supplements, travel expenses to go off-island for treatments – the list went on and on. I asked him if he would allow me to fundraise for them and he was adamant that he didn’t want that. Finally, after several tear-filled discussions, he allowed me to engage with their small community and do some fundraising to help with their expenses, and ease some of that financial burden for them, but it certainly wasn’t enough. After someone you love receives a diagnosis like this, there will never be an appropriate time, nor would it do any good to say “we should have gotten that critical illness insurance in place for you sooner” but I couldn’t help thinking it.

We had all hoped, prayed, begged whatever powers-that-be, that their life insurance would not come into play, but four months after his diagnosis, shortly after his 40th birthday, Lee passed away. The life insurance they did have, though insufficient, was a blessing. It allowed my sister to pay off enough of their mortgage that she wouldn’t have to sell the house that they had made a home together immediately after losing the love of her life, but it didn’t come close to what the actual insurance need was for their family.

We all hope that it won’t be our own family impacted by a serious illness, injury or tragedy that throws our life plans off track, but the truth is we all know someone, or know of someone, with a similar story to this one, and the last thing we or our loved ones should be worrying about during a time of crisis, is where the money is going to come from.

Thank you for reading,
Branwyn Kew, QAFP

To schedule a review of your own financial plan, please contact our office at 250-704-4040.

This is a general source of information only. It is not intended to provide personalized tax, legal, insurance, or investment advice, and is not intended as a solicitation to purchase securities. Blair & Associates is solely responsible for its content. For more information on this topic or any other financial matter, please contact an Blair & Associates Private Wealth Management.