Hospital gift-giving catalogue keeps Cape Breton woman’s memory alive
It's been about a year and a half since Cayla Gouthro and Tim Toomey got married inside the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.
Now, it's been fewer than eight months since Cayla Gouthro Toomey died.
"It's tough. It's a tough go,” said Tim Toomey. “She was my best friend and I really miss her."
The couple's tragic love story touched a lot of people. They hastily arranged the "I do's" after Cayla had a brain tumour the size of a peach removed in the spring of 2020. Pulling off the wedding in the middle of lockdown was complicated, but now Tim is even more grateful they tied the knot when they did on May 27 of last year.
"It was a huge effort to come together within 16 hours to have everything in place during the pandemic and everything, the license and everything,” Toomey said. “And to get married in the hospital, it meant the world to both of us."
On March 17, Gouthro Toomey passed away at age 52.
"She was doing well for a while,” said her daughter Haley Toomey. “But then just gradually after the new year, she just declined extremely rapidly."
Now, Gouthro Toomey’s memory is being kept alive in a new way. She is the face of this year's Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation gift-giving catalogue.
"It means the absolute world to us,” Haley Toomey said. “It's hard enough with her not being here, but knowing that her story and her legacy will always live on, it's incredible."
This year’s catalogue isn't just for the holidays. Gifts can be purchased all year round to support health care needs, and brighten a patient's day. Now, as they prepare for their first Christmas without Cayla, Tim and Haley Toomey say it eases a bit of the pain to help give back.
"Absolutely, it lifts our spirits,” said Tim Toomey. “It's good to see that her story is staying in the forefront and if people out there can help in any way, do it."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
Yemen's Houthi rebels claim downing U.S. Reaper drone, release footage showing wreckage of aircraft
Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed shooting down another of the U.S. military's MQ-9 Reaper drones, airing footage of parts that corresponded to known pieces of the unmanned aircraft.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.