Brooke Kajdy, an Airdrie mom of two who raised $110,000 to pursue cancer treatment in the U.S. last year, has died from her cancer diagnosis.
The 24-year-old had been diagnosed with Stage 4 B-cell lymphoma in June 2023. She had been 20 weeks pregnant at the time of her diagnosis.
She died on Sept. 19, according to an obituary published by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes.
The obituary describes Kajdy as a warm, vibrant and bubbly person who moved from her hometown of Auckland, New Zealand, to Ottawa in 2019 and then to Calgary. She met her husband, Gabe, in 2020 and by May 2021, the two had married. They welcomed their first baby, Sophie, later that same year.
She found out she was pregnant with her second child, Theo, in 2022 and was “overjoyed to be growing her family,” the obit said.
Her determination to see her pregnancy to term and prioritize her children never wavered, even with her diagnosis the next year. When she was first diagnosed, her doctor gave her and her husband two options, to either terminate the pregnancy and start a full chemotherapy treatment or to continue the pregnancy until 32 weeks and undergo an altered form of treatment that would minimize side effects to the baby.
Kajdy chose to continue the pregnancy. “I was already 20 weeks,” she said in October 2024. “It wasn’t like I was just a few weeks in.”
At 32 weeks, she underwent a C-section and Theo, her son, was born.
“I was so happy that once he was out, he was completely healthy,” she said. “He’s perfect.”
Despite undergoing several rounds of chemotherapy and treatment, Kajdy remained a devoted mother to her children and partner to her husband.
“Sophie, Theo and Gabe were everything to Brooke; they kept her grounded and gave her the strength to fight. Despite everything, Brooke made it a priority to spend quality time with her family — braiding Sophie’s hair, playing cars with Theo and going on date nights with Gabe,” the obituary read.
After the round of chemo failed to remove the cancer, their oncologist suggested she try participating in clinical drug trials in the United States that could treat her disease. The trips would cost upwards of $500,000 to potentially $1 million, much of which would have to paid out of pocket.
The couple began a GoFundMe to raise funds for the trip. The fundraiser raised $110,007 in total.
Last year, Kajdy spoke of the support she received from her community in Calgary, from her husband “holding down the fort” at home, to her parents-in-law stepping in on the bad days and her “village” or friends who stepped in to help out and fundraise for the young family.
The family declined requests to be interviewed for the story.
Her husband, in the GoFundMe fundraiser shared last year, described Kajdy as the most “unselfish, positive” person anyone would know.
“She didn’t think twice about choosing to save our unborn son’s life even if it meant risking her own,” he wrote.
The obituary described Kajdy as someone who “faced each day with grace, never losing her sense of purpose or compassion. Her kindness was a light in the lives of many, and her absence leaves a space that cannot be filled.”
