Remembering Ashley Hareguy
In March 2020, at the same time the whole world shut down, my best friend and colleague, Ashley, received a life changing diagnosis.
After caring and advocating for Cape Breton patients for many years as a critical care nurse, Ashley became a patient herself. At just 34 years old, Ashley was diagnosed with grade four cystic glioblastoma: an aggressive and terminal brain tumor.
My name is Sandra Johnson, and I’m writing to you today in loving memory of Ashley Hareguy, who passed away just over one year ago in August 2025. It is my hope to carry on her legacy of advocating for and giving back to health care and our community. For that reason, I am proud to share that all donations made to this letter will be matched, up to $50,000, by the J & W Murphy Foundation.
Ashley was compassionate, energetic, fiercely determined, and loved being a nurse almost as much as she loved being a mom. Her daughter, Josie, was her world. Her family and friends were everything to her. And she showed up for everyone, always.
After months of symptoms, including numbness and tingling on her right side, pressure in her head, and finally, lost vision, Ashley went to the emergency department, where a CT scan revealed a mass.
The next day, she underwent brain surgery in Halifax. When she woke up, she was told she’d have approximately one year to live.
“That’s not possible,” Ashley said. “I have a two-year-old daughter at home, so no.”
And so she fought.
For five and a half years, Ashley lived her life to the fullest. She spent that time being the best mom to Josie, attending her baseball games, grading days, and sharing many important moments with those she loved. She even planned and executed a wedding for her mother who was in palliative care battling lymphoma. And, she gave back to her community.
Having experienced the financial and emotional burden of cancer herself, Ashley became passionate about helping other Cape Breton families. She began fundraising for the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation, allowing patients to focus on their health, rather than their finances, during some of their toughest days.
Will you join me this Radio Day in giving in Ashley’s honour, to the very Foundation she so passionately gave to? Your donation today, which will be doubled, can help bring new portable X-ray units to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital (CBRH).
In January 2025, Ashley’s cancer returned. It was at this time she experienced firsthand just how important portable X-rays can be.
She was very sick and weak, and had been admitted to the CBRH. Her right side was paralyzed, she was having difficulty with speech, and even the simplest things required enormous energy.
As a critical care nurse myself, I can tell you that portable X-rays are an essential diagnostic tool, especially in the ICU, and their impact goes far beyond the technology itself. They help keep patients where they belong — close to the people they love.
An hour spent traveling to and waiting for an X-ray might not seem like much. But when you’re sick, exhausted, or facing a limited amount of time with your family, that hour is everything.
Your gift today can help make care more comfortable and dignified for Cape Breton patients. It can help their health care providers determine important next steps. And, most importantly, it can help keep families together during some of life’s most difficult moments.
That is the kind of care Ashley believed in. That is the kind of care she fought for. And that is the legacy I hope we can continue together, in her memory.
Please join me in giving this Radio Day, to honor Ashley, and to bring lifesaving imaging directly to the bedside of those who need it most.
With warm gratitude,
Sandra Johnson,
Registered Nurse,
Dear friend of the late Ashley Hareguy