Harley Czarkowski

“Harley was born May 22, 2016 and passed away October 22, 2022 at the age of 6 from Neuroblastoma. She came into this world FIERCE, battled cancer from the age of 4 FIERCELY and left us on her own terms by saying “mommy go” as I was lying next to her before she died. She didn’t want me to witness her leaving and I respect her for that as this was her way of taking control and remaining independent to the end.

Harley was so cool to be around! She had her own fashion sense, an eclectic taste for music new and old - hello Billie Eilish and Queen, and she had an intense love of animals, gardening and all things flowers. A couple of my favorite memories include driving to the hospital, looking at all the flowers together along the way out the window and then gathering lady bugs from within the hospital walls to save them, by releasing them back outside on the patio. Also, after a long hospital stay, we would both be excited to come home to check on our vegetable garden, harvest some carrots, zucchini and raspberries, and witness the new growth in our large wildflower garden. To this day, gardening brings me peace, reminding me of my daughter and the love of nature we shared.

I’ll end with my favourite quote by Henry David Thoreau, “All good things are wild and free”. This holds true for Harley. ”