Cara Danielle Michaela passed peacefully in the arms of her Mom and Dad on February 19, 2021. She was born at 4:31 a.m. and joined her Great Uncle Blair, Great Uncle Jeff, Grandma Judy, Great Grandpa Kelly, and Great Gumpa Holden in Heaven shortly after 5:00 p.m. the same day.
Cara was the daughter of Michael and Julie Kelly.
She is survived by three siblings, Blair, Holden, and Jovie.
Her grandparents are Jeff and Christine Blimkie (Grandpa and Grams), James Kelly Jr. (Big Poppa), and Scott and Neta Leonard (Gramps and Nana).
Cara received a diagnosis of Trisomy 18 before she was born. The odds were against us having time with her — but Cara was determined to prove everyone wrong — and she did. We feel blessed to have been able to enjoy time with her.
In just over twelve hours — she listened to stories about how her parents met, learned about her family history, and told a few stories of her own. She decided on her career path, was baptized and confirmed, and met all of her siblings and grandparents. She also met and felt the love of great grandparents, aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles, cousins, extended family and friends through calls and messages. Cara saved her last three hours for some special time spent with just her Mom and Dad.
She felt the kindness of doctors, nurses, staff, and volunteers at Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice and the Ottawa Hospital who helped us meet Cara, enjoy our time with her, and capture many memories — against all odds.
Cara is now in the good hands of God and our loved ones in Heaven. She will live on in our family — through prayers and thoughts, pictures and memories, celebrations of her life, a memorial in the Swiss Alps overlooking the Jungfrau — and in so many more ways.
The Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice provided our family with overwhelming support before, during, and after Cara’s short life with us. To help us honour Cara’s memory, we would be pleased to have you support their mission to meet the unique palliative care needs of newborns, children, youth, and their families.
Thank you Holly and OV Boss Babes for helping us share Cara’s Story! We have come a long way since we first met and had to say goodbye to Cara — this podcast was another big step for us!
To anyone who knows a lot, a little, or nothing about Cara — you can now listen to us tell her story below — we welcome you to listen in and help us share our youngest daughter’s story!
Part 1 of the Podcast
Part 2 of the Podcast
The OV Boss Babes Podcast was recorded in two parts in July 2023 and released before our 3rd annual Cara’s Kegger.
We talk about Cara’s Kegger and Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice, which can also be listened to by following the links below to OV Boss Babes Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Cara is our reminder to be kind to yourselves and each other — we want to help normalize talking about loss and let others know who experience a loss, you aren’t alone.
Just as important to us as raising funding for Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice in Cara’s memory — is raising awareness for all the good that they do for families like ours.
We share Cara’s Story to help ensure those who need it most get the same support that we were blessed with!