Her fight is over, but she is not forgotten.

Honoring Olivia

In the spring of 2023, four-year-old Olivia Luna Brown’s world was filled with laughter, adventure, and the warmth of her family. Living in Scotland, where her father James, a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, was stationed on exchange with the British Army, she spent her days exploring the beautiful castles and cities of Scotland, meeting and playing with new friends, and embracing the boundless energy of childhood.

But then, the headaches and vomiting began.

At first her parents thought it was a flu, but as time went on their concern grew. Her doctor couldn’t find anything wrong, but was concerned, and suggested that Olivia see an optometrist. 11 May 2023 started out as a nice day out for Olivia and her mother Ghen, but a visit to an optometrist led to an urgent hospital visit in Dundee, which quickly escalated to a transfer to the children’s hospital in Edinburgh. It was there that Olivia’s parents, James and Ghen, heard the words that would change everything: your daughter has a brain tumor. It was the beginning of a battle no child should ever have to fight.

Over the next 45 days Olivia would be in and out of hospital and face numerous complications from the tumor’s location, requiring multiple surgeries to relieve fluid buildup around her brain. Between failed shunts, biopsies, and placements, Olivia endured six grueling surgical procedures. Yet through it all, Olivia remained Olivia. Her spirit never wavered. As soon as she was able, she was up and about, bringing smiles to the nurses, often helping them just a day after surgery. After weeks of waiting, numerous medical procedures, and endless stress, James and Ghen finally received the diagnosis: pediatric high-grade glioma. A rare and aggressive brain tumor.

For James and Ghen, the weight of the situation was made heavier by their distance from home. At the end of June, the Canadian Armed Forces stepped in to bring Olivia and her family home to Ottawa, where she could receive treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Because of the cancer’s location surgical resection was not an option, and so Olivia began six grueling weeks of intense radiation and chemotherapy. She faced every challenge with the same boundless energy she had before her diagnosis, refusing to let cancer define her.

Olivia responded very positively to treatment, her resilience shining through. She had few side effects, and took those she experienced, such as losing her hair, very positively. Everyone was extremely optimistic over the following months as her scans showed that treatment has substantially shrunk her tumors and there was no new disease activity. She continued to tolerate the ongoing chemotherapy treatment.

But by May of 2024, her little body could no longer tolerate chemotherapy. The treatments meant to save her were becoming too much. And still, Olivia’s spirit shone. She had fought harder than anyone should ever have to.

Then, in June of 2024, something changed. Without warning, Olivia collapsed. Panic surged through her family as they rushed her to the emergency room. Yet, despite their fears of disease progression, the initial scans showed nothing conclusive. They held onto hope. Maybe it was just a fluke. Maybe this wasn’t the tumor advancing.

But then July came, and everything unraveled.

Olivia could no longer keep food down. Her once-confident steps became unsteady, her small body struggling against forces she couldn’t control.

Soon, she could barely move at all—drifting between wakefulness and an almost comatose state. Desperate for options, her family searched tirelessly for clinical trials that could give her another chance. But her fragile condition made treatment. They turned to radiation once more, four weeks of second-line treatment in a last attempt to slow the tumor’s assault. And against all odds, Olivia bounced back. August and September brought glimpses of hope—her energy returned, her strength grew. Conversations with SickKids Toronto opened doors to possible next steps: more trials? A different chemotherapy? There was still a chance.

But the shadow of her disease never loosened its grip. Mobility issues persisted, a reminder of the battle still raging inside her. Then, in mid-December, the signs of progression returned. Olivia struggled to balance, and heartbreaking moments of forgetfulness stole pieces of the little girl her family knew so well.

25 January 2025 began as a normal day for Olivia. She had been having mobility issues and reduced appetite, but then she began vomiting uncontrollably. Olivia went to bed early, not feeling well, but around 11 PM Ghen noticed unusual stiffness and woke Olivia. Olivia’s entire right side was paralyzed.

At the ER, her parents heard the words they had feared all along—the tumor had progressed. There were no more treatments to try. No more options to chase. Only time, and the love of those who had fought beside her every step of the way. Her family took Olivia home, surrounding her with warmth, with comfort, and with love. And at 7:00 a.m. on January 4, 2025, 6-year-old Olivia Brown took her final breath.

She had fought with a strength far beyond her years. She had lived with joy, even in the hardest moments. And though cancer took her body, it never took her resilience or enduring spirit.

Olivia’s fight is over. But her story will never be forgotten.

In March of 2025, CKc announced the naming of a research grant in memory of Olivia: The Olivia Luna Brown Fighting Chance Grant to Dr. Anirban Das at SickKids Toronto. The grant, which is co-funded by Kindred Foundation, supports Dr. Das’s work analyzing biomarkers to assess immune response in patients with a subtype of treatment-resistant glioblastoma. This grant lays the groundwork for more effective treatments for children with deadly brain and central-nervous system tumors.