After terminal diagnosis, this Hamiltonian is focusing on love, bucket lists and living fully in 2026

According to Cole DeLargie-Campbell, being diagnosed with a terminal disease has been both deeply sad and a “blessing in disguise.”

“How often do you get to plan your death?” they asked.

Four years ago, when they were 34, doctors discovered a brain tumour in DeLargie-Campbell. This fall, they were told they had a terminal brain disease and had somewhere between a few months and two years to live.

The first thing that came to their mind, they told CBC Hamilton in December, was their wife, Kaila DeLargie-Campbell.

The pair married in 2021 and have been together for 13 years.

It was shortly after they said “in sickness and in health” that DeLargie-Campbell was diagnosed with a meningioma — a tumour that is typically slow-growing out of the lining of the brain and spine.

After a “rollercoaster” of emotions, several surgeries, complications and hospital stays, DeLargie-Campbell was told in late November the news that the tumour, which they named “Brian,” was a “permanent resident” in their head.

Now, as the new year begins, they’re focusing on the time they have, writing journals and bucket lists. They wish for as much time as possible so they can reach their 40th birthday, renew their vows with Kaila and play Grand Theft Auto VI when it comes out in November.

DeLargie-Campbell’s tumour has rendered them unable to drive and work, so their friends set up an online fundraising campaign via GoFundMe to get them and their wife the time they have left together.

DeLargie-Campbell has taken the news of their impending death with strength and a dark sense of humour, but when getting the news, they just felt sadness.

“I feel like I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my wife, she's just the most amazing person and I'm not ready to go,” DeLargie-Campbell said, speaking in their living room in Hamilton's Stinson neighbourhood one cold afternoon.

As a cat person, they’re mourning not seeing their cats get older, or the new cat they were talking about getting.

DeLargie-Campbell is also mourning the life they wanted to live with their wife, and the hole they’ll leave once they’re gone.

“She'll be widowed, she'll always have a high standard,” they said, holding back tears. “She doesn't want to talk about this, but my urn [and our] collection of stuff will always be out.”