The family of a young girl in Cape Breton who died of a rare and devastating disease is hoping she inspires others to commit random acts of kindness in her name.
Four-year-old Jaycee Tracey passed away a few weeks ago from meningococcemia, a rare infection in the bloodstream caused by the same bacteria that can lead to meningitis.
“She was the best little girl,” Allison Kendall, Jaycee’s mother, told CTV Atlantic. “She was the best friend a mom could ever ask for.”
Kendall said she called her mother, who has been a doctor in Nova Scotia for more than 30 years, for advice after bruises started to appear on her daughter’s skin.
“One second their skin is normal and then the next there’s a big purple welt,” she said. “Ten minutes later there's three more and it comes, and it comes fast.”
The entire community of Glace Bay, N.S. has been shaken by Jaycee’s death, with visitors to her wake lining around the block and a makeshift memorial formed on the family’s front lawn.
While the grieving process has been tough for the family, they’ve taken the opportunity to advocate for early use of the meningitis vaccine and to start the “Jay it Forward” campaign, which encourages random acts of kindness around the community.
“She made this world a little bit more awesome every single day and for people to carry that on, she would be so proud,” Kendall said. “She would love that.”
To kick off the campaign, Jaycee’s sister Jaya will throw out the first pitch at the opening game of a local women’s softball league.
