An 11-year-old girl with an extremely rare terminal illness has a message for popular daytime television host Ellen DeGeneres.
“I love animals. I love to sing. I love to dance. I like everything like you. I just need to meet you and need to be on your show,” Jayda Suttie proclaimed.
The spirited young girl is hoping to meet DeGeneres when she attends the celebrity’s live Q&A at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Oct. 19.
The meeting with the famed comedian would be a highlight for Jayda following a difficult past two years.
In 2016, Jayda bumped heads with another student during gym class and was rushed to the hospital where she went into a coma. She awoke three days later to learn that doctors discovered she has a rare genetic disease called Leukodystrophy.
The degenerative illness affects the central nervous system and can result in balance disorders, tremors, and motor, intellectual, and sensory function disorders, according to the Leukodystrophy’s Foundation.
Leukodystrophy cases are always fatal and people with the disease are generally given a life expectancy of two to 10 years following a diagnosis.
“Jayda, when she woke up from the coma could only move her eyes,” Linda Suttie, Jayda’s mother, told CTV Vancouver. “We were in children’s [hospital] for a week and then she went to Sunny Hill [Health Centre] to do rehab.”
Despite the devastating news, Suttie said her daughter has been exceeding expectations with how she’s managing her symptoms from the disease.
“She was up walking in five weeks and neurology didn’t think she would walk,” Suttie said. “She’s worked really hard.”
Jayda has also been busy running her own lemonade stand called “Jayda’s Juice” or “Juicy J’s Lemonade” with which she raised $300 to buy her own pedal car to ride around in because she can’t use a bike.
Given her determination to lead a normal life, there’s hope Jayda will be able to meet her favourite celebrity one day soon.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Ben Miljure
