For the past five years, Helena Kirk could only watch the Santa Claus Parade from the confines of a hospital room, where she was undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
This year, the nine-year-old girl was in the parade.
Kirk, who was diagnosed with leukemia when she was three years old, is now cancer-free and was able to ride atop a float in this year's parade, which wound its way through downtown Toronto on Sunday.
Kirk wore a sparkly dress and earmuffs, which coveredher long brown hair. Kirk lost her hair during cancer treatment, but it has since re-grown.
“I usually have school plays, but this is the biggest performance thingy I’ve ever done,” she said.
The young girl, along with Sick Kids Hospital patients, waved to the crowds fromatop the Swarovski-sponsored float.
Kirk is an ambassador for Sick Kids. Her parents say she has wanted to give back to the hospital and the organizations that have helped her family since the day she started treatment.
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Ashley Rowe
