Hundreds of people showed up Wednesday at private, public and classroom memorials to Kayla Baker.
The Cambridge teen died last week at SickKids Hospital in Toronto.
She had been in hospital since March, when she was admitted for a lung transplant – the result of lung issues caused by a bout with cancer she had as an infant.
But while she stayed under hospital care, her legacy only grew in her hometown.
Cambridge residents adorned trees, lampposts and benches with green ribbons as a show of support and solidarity.
In May, hundreds of people walked and ran through Cambridge’s streets for the inaugural ‘Run-a-Lung’ fundraiser for SickKids.
And Wednesday, hundreds again showed up to a public memorial for the 15-year-old.
Susan Triplett, Kayla’s mother, says she was amazed by the latest outpouring of support for her daughter.
“It’s a sense of peace for me, that everybody loved Kayla as much as we loved Kayla,” she says.
Speaking to reporters, Triplett said another Run-A-Lung would be held in the spring, and Baker’s family and friends wouldn’t stop working to promote organ donor registration.
“Kayla’s mission was that nobody waits for organs,” she said.
“Her legacy will definitely be to make sure that everybody knows about organ donation.”
At Kayla’s school, St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, everybody already knows about donor registration – and many students old enough to register have already done so.
That includes Hannah Garcia, who remembers Kayla as an inspiration to all students, no matter how well they knew her.
“It’s amazing that someone going through so much can have this positive attitude and continue to keep a smile on her face,” she tells CTV News.
At St. Benedict, students decorated Kayla’s locker in her memory. Another memorial sits in the school chapel.
