Cape Breton teen who raised tens-of-thousands for the IWK now facing another unexpected hurdle

SYDNEY -

Alyssa Rose celebrated her sixteenth birthday four days ago but her family is not celebrating the news they received Thursday.

“We just found out that she has two little tumours starting to grow back from her original tumour and in the next few months she's going to have to undergo brain surgery again,” says Shawn Rose, Alyssa’s father.

It's not the first time the family had to go this route. In October 2018, Alyssa underwent a 20-hour surgery in Halifax to remove a tumour from her brain stem. Her mother, Lynn Rose, had the same type of tumour in nearly the same place over 20 years ago.

“It's making us relive everything we went through the first time. It's very scary and it really caught us off guard, especially where she was doing so well over the last couple of years,” says Shawn Rose.

Since her first surgery, Alyssa vowed to give back to the IWK and has raised over $33,000 for the hospital in the past three years.

“‘I just felt that it was a great place that does a lot of great things that deserves it,” says Alyssa Rose.

As a way to give back, the community has nominated Alyssa for Cape Breton Regional Municipality citizen of the year. The winner will be chosen through a public voting process, ending Sept. 23.

“I feel fantastic,” says Alyssa’s father. “She's a well deserving young lady and doesn't look for any recognition. She's doing all this fundraising on her own and it's just something she wants to do.”

People can vote once a day.

According to Rose, they're receiving a lot of support from the community.

“The community has always supported Alyssa and our family. Without support from the community we wouldn't have got through what we went through. We are very fortunate to belong to Cape Breton and have everyone in our corner,” says Shawn Rose.