Kayla Baker has been told she’ll never be able to return home from SickKids Hospital for good.
The Cambridge teen underwent a lung transplant at the Toronto hospital in April.
Her recovery from that was complicated by a second cancer diagnosis, and Baker’s mother, Susan Tremblett, says doctors have told the family that Kayla is too ill to leave the facility.
The family is planning to give Kayla a final trip to Cambridge, so she can see her dog and her house one more time.
Christmas decorations are also going up in her hospital room, while Kayla and Susan are baking cookies for hospital staff as a way of celebrating the holiday season.
As Christmas draws closer, 16 family members will gather in Kayla’s hospital room to eat Christmas dinner together.
Through Kayla’s ordeal, it hasn’t just been her family supporting the 15-year-old – the entire Cambridge community has been behind them as well.
In April, lampposts, benches and trees in Cambridge were decorated with green ribbons to support her and raise awareness of organ donation.
A special Run-a-Lung fundraiser was held in Cambridge in May to raise money for the SickKids rehab centre and awareness about organ donation, with Kayla rolling through the halls of SickKids in a wheelchair at the same time.
Family members say there will be another Run-a-Lung event in 2014.
A Facebook page in support of Kayla has received more than 10,000 likes.
Her family says members of the public wishing to show support over the holidays should send Christmas cards to the following address:
Hospital for Sick Children
555 University Ave, Toronto, ON M5G 1X8
Attn: Kayla Baker
