“We can finally feel comfortable breathing the air again,” said Kayleigh Meyers. She and husband, Nathan, are finally decompressing in their renovated home and reflecting back on the year that rocked their world. 

In 2020 amidst a global pandemic, they welcomed their third child, Whitney, into the world. At her three month check up, she had a clean bill of health but 1.5 months later, they noticed a cat-like reflection in her eye through a photo they took and went to see their optometrist just in case. 

By lunchtime that same day, they had a confirmed diagnosis from the hospital that Whitney had a rare form of eye cancer called retinoblastoma. It was a Wednesday. Kayleigh recalls how she had been absorbed in preparing the kids to go back to school with new COVID restrictions and how suddenly those worries seemed so insignificant.

By Sunday, Kayleigh, Nathan and Whitney were travelling to Toronto to do more tests and start intra-arterial chemotherapy with specialist Dr. Gallie. An MRI had mercifully confirmed that Whitney’s cancer had not spread to her brain and luckily she was just big enough to do this type of targeted treatment that would spare her little body the ravages of regular chemotherapy. 

Ten days later, the Meyers returned home to reunite with their two kids and parents, only to notice soggy floor boards in the kitchen – seemingly from a dishwasher leak. Kayleigh took a look under the sink cupboards and found ominous-looking black mould.

An assessment revealed that there was extensive mould behind the walls that had likely developed from a slow leak over six months and that the entire kitchen needed to be gutted. Insurance covered $11,000 but the project was estimated to be $60,000. This sudden renovation when they really needed their home to be a safe haven for their family was undoing. 

The Meyers moved in with their parents and started renovations in October. By November, their story had been submitted by multiple people to local radio station 88.9 Shine FM and they were connected with Legacy Kitchens who wanted to help in any way they could. While the kitchen renovation contracts were signed and underway, the Meyers needed renovations to their two bathrooms that had previous water damage as well – a project put on hold due to the arrival of baby Whitney. 

Legacy Kitchens spared no time to jump in and bring in other partners like Tile and Stone Source to redo the bathrooms that Kayleigh now describes as “gorgeous – like a five-star hotel bathroom.”

“They really went the extra mile to fix things that were previously not up to code and seemed to spare no expense with quality materials.” 

While renovations were underway, they continued to take Whitney to Toronto every few weeks for treatment. On the third trip determined that there was no more vision to be salvaged from her one eye. Surgical removal was the best option to prevent any cancer from travelling to the optic nerve. 

Whitney was fitted for a prosthetic eye which will need to be remade every six months as she outgrows it, then eventually annually and less frequently into adulthood. Aside from her prosthetic eye, Whitney was declared cancer-free by Christmas and will be able to live a normal life with vision from her one eye. 

Kayleigh and Nathan have admirably maintained a spirit of hope and optimism through it all –  finding their resilience strengthened by the community that has showed up in unexpected ways to walk alongside their family. 

“People really do care. I was blown away by the warmth of the subcontractors who signed up to do the work, the companies that gave when there was no apparent benefit to them, all the people who donated to the GoFundMe… it has restored my faith in humanity.”

Tile and Stone Source is committed to serving the communities around us. If you know of organizations or families like the Meyers who could use support with a renovation that involves tile, we encourage you to submit a request for product donation through our Giving Back Program.