In December of 2020, my four-year-old daughter, Isabelle Borkowski, passed away in the arms of my loving wife, Jacqueline, and me. “We cuddled her, spoke to her, kissed her, and never let go of her hand all through the night and into the morning, until she took her last breath and was calm.” 

A child diagnosed with DIPG today faces the same prognosis as a child diagnosed 60 years ago, with a median survival time of about 9 months from diagnosis. We are committed to changing this, not only in memory of our daughter Isabelle but for all children diagnosed with DIPG. We believe that with more awareness and funding, we can change the devastating diagnosis for future Canadian families fighting this disease. 

Isabelle spent most of 2020 in and out of SickKids and Princess Margaret hospitals after being diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), an aggressive childhood brain tumor for which there is currently no known treatment. Jacqueline and I have now dedicated ourselves to raising awareness and funds for DIPG research, driven by the hope that no other family will have to endure the same heartbreak we faced.