KINDNESS FROM STRANGERS: Dying mum's crippling hardship

Cheryl just wants to provide for her kids while she still can her after rent and bills were paid.

- LYNLEY WARD

Barely two months ago, Cheryl Carr couldn’t put a foot on the ground without an excruciating pain shooting up her leg. In crippling agony, the mum-of-two staggered the few steps to her bathroom before collapsing back onto her bed.

With cancer lodged in her spine for the past seven years, the terrible side effects of drugs keeping the killer disease at bay has radically changed the life of the East Auckland mum, who less than a decade ago ran a construction company.

Now the exhausting toll on her health leaves her fatigued, compounded by the financial strain she carries raising a school-aged child on a disability benefit, which leaves her struggling to make ends meet.

Her heartbreaking plight has spurred generous Kiwis to reach into their wallets and donate to a give a little page to help ease the burden for a woman who has thought nothing of donating her time to help others, even when battling the worst pain imaginable.

“It’s unbelievable,” she shares. “I get emotional when I think about it. I am seven years down the track of stage-four cancer. There are some days that I feel lonely and to have all these people who are complete strangers feel like they would like to donate is pretty amazing.”

Cheryl, 49, can’t remember the last time she wore fashion from a high-street store. It’s a luxury she hasn’t been able to afford in years.