When Ewen and Kendall met at the bar where they both worked, they couldn’t have predicted the ride life would take them on.

Ewen had recently moved to Vancouver from the Maritimes, settling into what he describes as a “windowless basement apartment.” Kendall lived in nearby Kitsilano, though the couple soon moved into a one-bedroom suite in the building Ewen already called home.

In 2017, Ewen left for six months to train with the RCMP in Regina. Following his training, he was eager to start his new career in Campbell River, B.C., which called for a celebration with friends.

“We had a dust-up weekend,” Ewen recalls. “I had what I thought was a hangover, and it never really went away.”

From celebration to emergency surgery

He was feeling so unwell that he visited a local emergency room, where staff thought he simply had a migraine that would resolve on its own.

The next day, Ewen returned with intense pain and swelling that wouldn’t subside. He had a CT scan, which revealed a tumour that doctors told him required immediate surgery.

He was transferred by ambulance to Victoria, where he was to have surgery the next day.

With his parents living in Halifax at the time, and his brothers in Calgary and Vancouver, Kendall started making the calls no one wants to make.

“She was calling them saying, ‘There’s a brain tumour and he’s going for emergency surgery,’” Ewen says. “People were on the next flights out and filtered in pretty quick.”

Ewen’s surgery was a success, with doctors able to remove the entirety of his tumour. Told initially that his tumour was glioblastoma and his prognosis was two years, Ewen learned later that his tumour was a high-grade glioma (HGG) with an isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation.

Moving forward, one step at a time

He had six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation following his surgery, while he and Kendall stayed with Kendall’s mom in Victoria.

“Fortunately, it was as comfortable as it could be, with home-cooked meals and time with family,” Ewen says.

The couple purchased their own home in Campbell River while Ewen was still recovering, which was a major milestone for them. Another major milestone came when Ewen put on his uniform and returned to work seven months and three days following his diagnosis.

“That was a big goal,” Ewen says. “I was just starting my career and it was very difficult to get where I wanted to be, so I was eager to get back to work.”

The following year, Kendall began studying to become a registered nurse. She’d been going through the application process prior to Ewen’s diagnosis, but says their experience reinforced her decision to choose nursing as her career path.

She now works at the same hospital where Ewen was first treated, and where he still receives regular CT scans.

Looking ahead with positivity and support

By 2023, those scans started to show a regrowth of Ewen’s tumour. Thankfully, the tumour is slow growing, with scans scheduled every three months to monitor it. Ewen and Kendall are grateful for the care team that’s supported them through their journey, from Ewen’s neurosurgeon in Victoria to his oncologist in Campbell River, along with nurses and other medical professionals that helped them on their way.

“I feel good about what’s going on, despite some days feeling like this is an unfortunate situation to be in,” Ewen says. “It’s a complicated feeling.”

“We’ve had a pretty solid team that touches base with us and breaks down what’s happening,” Kendall adds. “We’ve had really incredible care.”

In the midst of their support from Ewen’s medical team, Ewen and Kendall have benefited from the support of others, too. Family has been a constant through their journey, with friends stepping up to help.

Beyond a wedding gift

Ewen and Kendall graciously requested donations to Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada at their October 2024 wedding, with their emcees—Ewen’s brothers—collecting cash for every clink of the glass, signaling for the couple to kiss.

Less than a week later, they received mail from family friends at the Sutherland Foundation.

“We got this lovely note,” Kendall says. “It said that they appreciated seeing all the love we have and how it was such a special day. Along with it was a really big donation.”

The Sutherland Foundation donated a deeply generous $50,000 to Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, in honour of Ewen and Kendall.

A year later, to mark their first wedding anniversary, the Sutherland Foundation donated another $25,000.

“They’re just really kind and generous people,” says Kendall, with Ewen noting that these family friends stayed behind after the wedding to help clean up the venue.

“We were responsible for setup and take down, and obviously everyone’s a little slow moving the morning after a wedding,” he says. “They’d taken down all the tables and cleaned up the dishes, which was such a huge gift in itself.”

Carrying hope

Also a gift is Ewen surpassing his seven-year tumour-versary, a milestone that reflects the hope he and Kendall have carried with them from the very beginning. Together, they remain grateful—not only for the medical teams who continue to walk alongside them, but also for the opportunity to give back and support others navigating a brain tumour diagnosis with the same sense of hope.