I am writing this as a brother with a heavy heart, and a new father who absolutely cannot fathom what my sister had to come to terms with over the past three years.

As many of you know, my sister, Kayla Lynn Cheryl Rose, passed away peacefully late on the evening of October 25th 2025, after a multi-year battle with breast cancer. Kayla fought an amazingly hard fight, and never so much as complained about the hand she was dealt. She woke up with a determination every day to be happy, upbeat, and make the most of the time she had left – all while knowing that her time would be called much earlier than most…

As time passed after her initial diagnosis in 2022, and emotions levelled out, I had many private conversations with Kayla. I asked how she felt, if she was scared or nervous, and ultimately what I could do to help her. I had one particular conversation with her when I asked her why she never cried or showed sadness in the face of her terminal diagnosis. She told me two words, two words that shaped the rest of our time together… “My boys”.

Kayla is leaving behind two beautiful young boys (the little rambunctious pre-teen troublemakers they are) – Jasper Craig (11), and Sonny Wry (9). As a new father myself, the realization that Kayla was aware that she would be leaving behind the two people in the world she loved and cared for the most, and would not be there to help support and raise them as they grew into young men, was and is absolutely heartbreaking to me. For three years, as the devoted and loving mother she is, she did everything in her power and ability, while undergoing countless chemo and radiation cycles, to give the boys memories and experiences with her that they would hold for a lifetime. She applied herself, without help and support from the family, for Melanie’s Way (a great Canadian charity I have nothing but positive words for) to arrange for a trip to Disney World and the lion safari with her sons – something she knew she never would be able to do. She threw extravagant birthday parties for the boys; she bought a fold up screen and projector and threw a “Rose Family Drive-In” movie night; she made Build-A-Bear’s with touching messages for them; and she made poster boards with all their cherished photos for them to have during this hard transition to not having their mother.

I made a promise to Kayla that we would help make sure the boys had every opportunity they could want, and ensure they were set up to succeed in life. She told me this was the only thing she worried about, not facing death, not experiences she wasn’t able to have – just the idea of leaving behind her boys and not being able to support them. She told me that knowing I would step up to help allowed her to rest peacefully.

I am reaching out today as someone looking to fulfill their promise to their sister – I promised Kayla I would set the boys up to succeed, and I will keep this promise.

If you have the means, a donation, big or small, goes a long way to helping make this dream come true. All donations, down to the last cent, is to be divided equally and put into trust funds for each of the boys. This money is not to help me, or my family – this money is to help Kayla rest easy and help her boys become their absolute best selves.

As the old saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a family,” – in this case, it takes Picton and the surrounding areas where all her loved ones and family lives to help make this dream come true.

I thank you for your consideration and any donation you may be able to make.

Please keep Kayla, Jasper, and Sonny in your wishes.