Caitlyn spent 146 nights at BC Children's Hospital, here's what got her through them

On the weekend of her birthday, a usually energetic Caitlyn was too winded to finish her lacrosse game. Within days, she had a diagnosis no 12-year-old should hear: leukemia.

Gone were the team practices, the school days, and the sleepovers that filled her young life. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia had been building in her bone marrow for weeks, flooding her blood with immature white cells that crowded out the healthy ones. It was why she couldn’t catch her breath on the field.

The good news was that her form of cancer was treatable. The bad news was that treatment would run for years, taking Caitlyn out of her school, off the field, and away from her friends.

A year unlike any other

BC Children’s Hospital

What followed was a year unlike anything a kid could have imagined. The complications came one after another. First, a fungal infection in Caitlyn’s liver and spleen. Next, blood clots in her leg and in her lungs. Then came a night when her hemoglobin was so low that she needed four transfusions before morning light. Caitlyn started marking the nights she spent in the hospital. By July, her count was 146. 

The physical toll was only part of the story. There was also the part no one could see: Caitlyn was slipping into depression. As the months wore on, Caitlyn stopped wanting to speak to anyone. Not her doctors, not her parents, and not even her friends. “She was in a bad place,” her mother, Chantal, recalls. “A dark, dark headspace,” she said. 

But her team at BC Children’s Hospital was determined to stay by her side. First there was Jess, the hospital psychologist. When Caitlyn didn’t want to talk, Jess offered games they could play silently. One day, then another, until Caitlyn felt like she could find her voice again.

BC Children’s Hospital’s important support

BC Children’s Hospital

Soon, Caitlyn started opening up about her worries to Jess. She admitted that she was nervous about the pills she would have to take every day. Jess had an idea, and it meant working as a team: they could practice with candy. Caitlyn approved. 

Jess didn’t just help Caitlyn find her voice. She also helped Caitlyn find her words. Together, they explored phrases for what Caitlyn was feeling, practiced breathing exercises, and found ways to ask for what she needed. Before, Caitlyn needed her parents to intervene. “Now,” she admits proudly, “I can advocate for myself.” 

Then there were the child life specialists – Ashley and Kristina. Child life specialists play a key role at BC Children’s Hospital by doing the things that medicine alone cannot. Their donor-funded programs help kids make sense of a hospital. They turn procedures into play, fear into understanding, and loneliness into company. In other words, they’re the ones who ensure that a kid like Caitlyn feels like a child first and a patient second.

“Everybody’s worried about physical health,” says Chantal. “But mental health needs to be taken care of too.” 

When Caitlyn needed company, Ashley stopped by regularly to chat. And when Caitlyn’s hands became frustratingly shaky, Kristina brought her diamond art, turning an activity she loved into unexpected physical therapy. “They made me feel very safe here,” says Caitlyn. “At one point, I was actually sleeping better here than I was sleeping at home.”

Sometimes, Caitlyn’s favourite visitors arrived on four paws. She looked forward to BC Children’s donor-funded Pet Therapy program, where she could spend time with her fluffy friends. Because of this donor-funded program, kids get unconditional warmth exactly when they need it most.

The countdown to September

Earlier this year, Caitlyn reached maintenance, the last but longest phase of leukemia treatment. She now visits the outpatient clinic at BC Children’s for blood work and port access, where Kristina is waiting to say hello.

She’s also started her physical recovery at the Specialized Pediatric Rehabilitation OUTpatient (SPROUT) Program. Located at Sunny Hill, this new donor-funded clinic is helping Caitlyn regain the strength she lost after spending a year in a hospital bed. 

Healing looks different here. Caitlyn’s therapists use virtual reality therapy to retrain her body. Immersed in games, Caitlyn does squats, reaches, and balances in a way that feels like pure play. As her mother, Chantal, points out, nobody wants to do ten squats, but every child wants to play.

“It doesn’t feel like work,” Chantal enthuses. “She’s having so much fun.” And that fun is paying off. Caitlyn recently made it to the pool at SPROUT, swimming for the very first time since her treatment started. 

Hospital stays have now given way to school days. Caitlyn has already mapped out her classes and planned her back-to-school schedule. She’s going to be exactly where her friends are.

Her treatment runs until 2028. But Caitlyn stopped counting the days. She’s too busy filling them with friends, with games, and with everything it means to be a kid.

You can help more kids like Caitlyn get back to being kids

Parts of Caitlyn’s story are funded by people like you. The child life specialists who prepared her for each procedure. The pet therapy program that reaches patients at their most vulnerable. The SPROUT program rebuilding her strength at Sunny Hill. These services exist because British Columbians choose to give.

To support programs like these at BC Children’s Hospital, visit the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation website.