One of Carol Brown's biggest wishes was to be sworn in as a Canadian citizen.

She was finally made a Canadian last Monday afternoon.

Carol and her husband, Gene, were both sworn in as Canadian citizens during a special ceremony at Whitehorse General Hospital, conducted by Ian Basson from the citizenship office.

Carol is terminally ill with cancer. She will not be able to attend the citizenship ceremony, which occurs annually on Canada Day at Rotary Peace Park.

'It's great that they did this for us,' Gene said.

Carol emigrated from Wellington, New Zealand, in 1971. Gene permanently settled in Whitehorse in 1973 after moving from Portland, Ore.

'Both of us thought that if we got our Canadian citizenship, we'd lose our original citizenships, they'd automatically be gone, and it wasn't until recently that we realized otherwise,' Gene said.

'As soon as we found out, we jumped at it. I did everything I could to arrange this before Carol is gone.'

When Carol was hospitalized three weeks ago, Gene realized the ceremony on July 1 was becoming increasingly difficult for her to attend, so he approached Basson two weeks ago to see if officials could have a private ceremony.

Arrangements were made with the palliative care section of the hospital. Basson was able to come up to Carol's room and conduct the ceremony in front of their daughter, Krissy, other family members and close friends.

'I've felt like I am a Canadian for the past 35 years, longer than some Canadians have been alive,' Gene said. 'I guess it's official now.'

Carol has made several trips to the Foothills Hospital in Calgary over the past two years for treatment.

She had wanted to return to New Zealand, but after her recent hospitalization, the Browns will be sticking close to home.