Dungog rallies to help Adele Chapman

Adele Chapman has been a pillar of the Dungog community for the past 20 years.

While she has been one to help others now her community is helping her.

Adele and her family have been struggling after she was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2018.

"After months of not being well, my doctor found that I had a shadow in my liver and he went from there," Mrs Chapman said.

"After a lot of tests and scans he found that it had spread from my colon. At the moment it's probably easier to ask me where it isn't."

Having worked in Dungog's branch of the National Australia Bank for over eight years, word of Mrs Chapman's diagnosis quickly spread throughout town.

This resulted in people reaching out to her from the very beginning to offer their support.

"I was often not there [following my diagnosis] and people would start to ask questions.

"Not sticking their noses in just actually genuinely caring which really surprised me.

"I always thought my job was to make sure they were ok and all of a sudden these people wanted to make sure that I was ok," she said.

"People would bring in flowers, I would come home and find gift packages on my front doorstep and random stuff that they knew that I liked.

"It was all trying to just make me feel like I wasn't alone which it really did."

However, despite the community rallying around her, Mrs Chapman's treatments stopped working in August of 2023.

After her second round of treatment stopped working and Mrs Chapman ended up in hospital for two weeks her sister set up a MealTrain website for her to coordinate food for her husband, Wayne and son Jasse.

Her best friend also started a GoFundMe to support Mrs Chapman and her family.

"I have had to give up work and things are very stressful and it just surprised me that people I didn't really know, I know their names and know they live in Dungog but otherwise just random people, how they would just donate a couple of dollars or they would drop off a meal," she said.

"I think that's what's got me the most.

"People that I would see everyday, I would give them their money out of their account and say hi. They're digging deep into their pockets.

"It just amazes me how people are taking the time to cook meals, donating a couple of dollars just to make someone they've met maybe once in their life, if at all, to help make my life easier. It's just been amazing."

The GoFundMe page was set up on Friday, February 9, 2024 with the goal of $1000. It has since raised $5710 with 46 donations.

Alongside the money, some people who donated have left messages on the page as well.

"Brave and courageous lady, lovely family and the very best neighbours. Thinking of you and wishing you the very best at this so difficult time," a resident said.

Mrs Chapman said that she has found the whole experience incredibly humbling.

"It's been really humbling and overwhelming.

"I was quite taken aback by the attention but also the fact that I'm a total stranger.

"The fact that they want to say 'we don't know you but this is just what Dungog does.' It just made me feel overwhelmed," she said.

"I picked a really good community to raise my son and to live in because it's just amazing and I guess Dungog has always stopped to help people but this is a big thing, taking money out of your pocket and giving it to a total stranger.

"It has just made me feel so special.

"We're just so blessed and I'm so blessed to have such a good community and be embraced and be told that we know it's hard, we know this is not going to go away but we're still here for you and we just want you to get through this. It's gobsmacking, it's absolutely gorgeous."

Mrs Chapman said that she's incredibly thankful that the community of Dungog has rallied around her in the way that it has.

"They've just made me feel like it's one big family and that's so important," she said.

"I think as a community we make sure that all our newcomers, people we've never met before, they all feel part of our massive family."

To donate a meal visit www.mealtrain.com/trains/4e93d8. To donate funds visit www.gofundme.com/f/adele-chapman-queen-bee.