Check out<\/strong> Jim’s fundraising page for Wellspring<\/a><\/p>\n Jim was born into a musical family in rural Texas, and while growing up, he dabbled in piano, drums and trumpet, but none captured his fancy quite like the rich ambient sound of handbells, which he discovered in 1993.<\/p>\n While living in Houston, Jim worked for UPS and directed a handbell team before he married the love of his life and moved to Canada. Along with travel and various other adventures, he helped form the Bow River Musicians Handbell Society<\/a> in Calgary, a group he continues to be devoted to.<\/p>\n \u201cI have lived an amazingly interesting life. I am very fortunate in all the experiences I\u2019ve had, people I\u2019ve met, places I\u2019ve been. And I don\u2019t take any of that for granted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In 2014, the year Jim joined his husband in Canada, he was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, a slow-moving incurable cancer. While no immediate treatment was required, for Jim, this was a wake-up call \u2014 a sign that joy and helping others was his ticket to living well.<\/p>\n This philosophy would be put to the test years later, when in 2024, Jim was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer and given 30 percent odds of survival.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter weeks of radiation, I had no fight left in me at all. I was physically and mentally spent and very depressed. At that point my oncologist said to me that to even make it into those 30 per cent odds, I would have to believe that I could do this, I\u2019d need a positive attitude, and I\u2019d have to fight like hell. Well, I had none of those things in me,\u201d said Jim.<\/p>\n To make matters worse, Jim developed an ileus \u2014 a dangerous intestinal blockage and ended up in hospital for a week. The treatment, including three days with a nasogastric tube, was so unbearable for Jim, it tested his will to live.<\/p>\n It was during this time that Jim experienced how people\u2019s best intentions can sometimes have ill effects.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone around me was really trying their best to be caring and supportive \u2014 saying things like, \u2018you can do this,\u2019 and \u2018atta boy Jim, you\u2019ve got this, you can beat this thing.\u2019 But those comments didn\u2019t give me courage, they actually did the opposite \u2014 they made me angry. They didn\u2019t know what I was going through. They didn\u2019t know how hard it was. Their comments made it sound like all I had to do was think positive and I\u2019d get through it easily, but this was anything but. Deep down what I was thinking is, I don\u2019t have this \u2014 I can\u2019t do it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But Jim didn\u2019t want to let his people down, so he carried on as though he did \u2018have this,\u2019 and in the meantime, quietly behind the scenes he was getting his life in order \u2014 creating \u2018how to\u2019 documents for all the roles he plays in organizations, so things could carry on and others wouldn\u2019t suffer without him.<\/p>\n \u201cI was preparing to die. And I made peace with this. I had no angst or bad feelings about dying because what I\u2019ve already experienced and done is incredible. I\u2019ve been so incredibly lucky. I thought, if I were to die tomorrow, I\u2019d be fine. But what I wasn\u2019t fine with was thinking about not being there for those who depend on me.\u201d<\/p>\n Then one day while scrolling through YouTube, Jim discovered Pete & Bas, two 70-plus year-old grandpas who got bored in retirement and started rapping.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t like rap music \u2014 it has never been my thing, but watching these two old guys was hilarious and it actually blew my mind how good they were! So, I watched all their videos and I discovered that when I was watching Pete & Bas, I wasn\u2019t depressed!\u201d<\/p>\n Jim\u2019s therapist noticed his lighter demeanor and asked him what had changed. When Jim told her, she prescribed daily doses of Pete & Bas rap videos and miraculously, Jim began to feel himself again.<\/p>\n He felt even more uplifted when he learned that Pete started his rapping career at 68 yrs of age while fighting cancer himself.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, you\u2019ve got to be kidding me! I\u2019m sitting here preparing to die and this guy is out there having the time of his life, doing something he loves and inspiring people \u2014 he\u2019s doing sold out concerts over the world!\u201d said Jim. \u201cThat flipped a switch in me. If he can do all of that, why am I sitting here giving up?\u201d<\/p>\n Jim reached out to Pete and Bas by email and when they responded, he was moved to board a plane and go to one of their concerts in the UK. At the concert he was granted a backstage pass and invited on stage for a once in a lifetime experience, performing one of their rap songs with them.<\/p>\n When he came back, he was a new man. A man who would marry handbells with rap beats and help bring hope to people living with cancer.<\/p>\n When Jim discovered Wellspring, he could see right away the impact it has on people facing cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cThe minute I walked into the room at Wellspring, I could see on people\u2019s faces how important Wellspring is. Everybody in that room knows what you\u2019re dealing with and they\u2019re not trying to convince you \u2018you\u2019ve got this\u2019 when you\u2019re scared and you\u2019re not sure you can get up in the morning. This kind of support is different from family and friends. Just being with people who understand is incredibly powerful,\u201d said Jim.<\/p>\n Feeling extremely fortunate to be surrounded by love and fortified by music, Jim observed that many people feel alone in their cancer journey, and Wellspring is more than a support community, for some it\u2019s a surrogate family.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve heard people say if it hadn\u2019t been for Wellspring they don\u2019t know if they would have made it. That Wellspring understands what you need, when you need it, and how you need it \u2014 and this makes all the difference in the world. And that\u2019s exactly why I chose Wellspring for this fundraiser.\u201d<\/p>\n Sadly, after beating prostate cancer, in 2025, cancer was detected in several of Jim\u2019s bones, which turned out to be metastasis from his lymphoma. Chemotherapy followed and he rang his victory bell for the second time in his life on July 21, 2026. The cancer is almost certain to return, but he says he\u2019s hoping for a good 10 years or more before he has to deal with it again.<\/p>\n In the meantime, Jim continues to beat the odds with handbell-infused rap beats \u2014 a constant source of joy and a way to help others.<\/p>\n \u201cI have been fortunate to have had really great role models (like Pete) in my life and if I can turn around and be that role model for someone else, then that\u2019s the biggest honour of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n **Any time Ring My Bell<\/a> is streamed (listened to or watched), Wellspring will benefit. But to make it count even more, people can purchase the song on a platform called Bandcamp<\/a> at a minimum cost of $1.50. If purchasers choose to pay more than this amount, it all goes to Wellspring Alberta**<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Jim Winslett was diagnosed with cancer the first time, he was in his late 40s, and he had an epiphany of sorts. \u201cIt was at that point that I adopted the tenet I now live by, which is: if it doesn\u2019t help someone or bring me joy, I don\u2019t have time for it.\u201d Of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":15939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-15937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-member-story"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Back Story on the Rapper called \u2018story.\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Best intentions<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Rap on Tap<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Why Wellspring<\/strong><\/h4>\n
This Beat Goes On<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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