From COVID to Cancer

It has been a whirlwind of emotions for the Kennedy family. Kayleigh’s son, Ethan, was diagnosed with a high-risk leukemia a few months before his third birthday.

This is Kayleigh’s story.

“In August 2022, I heard the words no parent should ever hear: Your son has cancer. He was two years old, and my daughter was six months old at the time. Those first few days were a complete blur. We had a new reality we had to accept. And we knew that this was going to be a challenging journey, but also one that ultimately would bring us all closer together, make us all stronger. It had to.

It was during our stay at McMaster Children’s Hospital that we had such positive experiences with Campfire Circle. But to really understand the impact this organization had on our family, I need to go back even further.

Ethan was only four months old when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. As an entrepreneur, I had the flexibility to keep him home with me until my daughter Zoey was born in February 2022. That was when Ethan started daycare. And we all know about daycare germs, but they seemed to impact him more than others. In the months before Ethan’s diagnosis, he spent most of it at home sick. Part-time daycare became even more part time for us.

By the time he was diagnosed, Ethan hadn’t had many opportunities to interact and socialize with other kids or get comfortable around other children.

We went from COVID to cancer.

In the hospital, we had such positive experiences with the Campfire Circle staff: Sam, Jacques, and Ally. It seems every time we have been admitted to the hospital over the past two years, we have been in isolation. These interactions with camp staff coming into our room and doing crafts and playing with Ethan have had a massive impact on all of us!

On his third birthday, he was admitted to hospital and in isolation, but we had a celebration thanks to Sam, who Ethan got to pie in the face! The “pie in the face” birthday tradition with camp is so much fun. He almost had to spend his fourth birthday there too, but we ended up getting discharged a couple of days before. Ethan still got to pie Jacque, and we had a little celebration.

I can’t even count how many times we have been admitted to the hospital in the past two years. One of the doctors says that if there was a bingo card for viruses and infections, Ethan’s would be filled. But those visits get to be positive experiences, because of the support of services like Campfire Circle. On one special weekend, Ethan made me a new button for my braid, when he was admitted with pneumonia.

These are such positive memories now for us.”