Isabelle
Isabelle loved all things mechanical – trains, planes, cars, boats – so even though her school was only a 10-minute walk from home, her parents signed her up to ride the big yellow bus when she started junior kindergarten in September 2020.
Starting school and riding the school bus were just two of the childhood experiences Isabelle’s family made sure she didn’t miss following her diagnosis with a rare brain tumour in April 2020, just a few months before she turned 4. Among the others: birthday parties (monthly), playing princess, visiting Niagara Falls, the CN Tower and Ripley’s Aquarium, learning to assemble tacos, dressing up for Halloween, hanging out with her grandparents and big brother and sister, going on shopping sprees and celebrating Christmas (early).
Although only 4, Isabelle also had a few mature enthusiasms. After recovering from treatments to slow the progression of her Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), she continued to help out with the household chores she loved, and showed off her construction skills by pitching in to build toy shelves in a new playroom the family set up for her.
Isabelle had definitive ideas: She insisted on an indoor picnic for her father’s birthday rather than serving him breakfast in bed, and while she didn’t generally enjoy having her picture taken, when the mood struck she would “model” – her way – refusing any advice from family members, and resulting in some unique photos.
Although she disliked “pokes”, Isabelle weathered her treatments at SickKids in good spirits, and for a time following her diagnosis, a combination of radiation, steroids and other medications allowed her moments where she could be her giggly, kind, mischievous self.
But as summer became fall, and fall turned into early winter, Isabelle’s strength began to wane, and her headaches and nausea became more frequent. Her parents Michal and Jacqueline received the devastating news that Isabelle’s tumor had spread throughout the rest of her brain and into her spine and that nothing more could be done to slow it. By mid-December, Isabelle was sleeping most of the day and receiving visits at home from a palliative care doctor and nurse who helped keep her as comfortable as possible. On Dec. 15, Isabelle slipped into a coma, and a few close family members came by or connected by video call for one last visit.
Michal and Jacqueline spent the night holding Isabelle’s hands and cuddling her through an epic marathon of her favourite movies and music. On the morning of Dec. 16, 2020, Isabelle took one last breath and passed away peacefully, eight short months after her diagnosis.
