[Photo Description: Ollie's left eye is examined by Dr. Dollin at The Eye Institute at the Ottawa Hospital two days prior to surgery.]
It's been a really busy June and it's not done, yet, but we've heard from many people recently who wondered if Ollie was okay as we hadn't had a chance to update! He's doing great, but started the month hearing that his second eye surgery was finally booked for June 10th.
Just in time, too as his latest MRI
showed that the bleed around his retina was now larger and his eye had started to turn yellow and worry us.
[Photo Description: Dawn wears a KN95 mask and has her arm around Ollie who is wearing his hospital gown and a smile as they wait in isolation for his eye surgery at CHEO.]
The surgery itself lasted about 2.5 hours and was expected to be another posterior vitrectomy like the first. Unfortunately the original suspicion that Dr. O'Connor and Dr. Dollin had that it was a retina detachment was true in this eye. The damage was too much for them to be able to reattach the retina, but Dr. Dollin was able to restore the blood flow in the main blood vessel, to remove the new blood vessels that had appeared and tried to take over his eye, to remove his lens with cataracts and to ensure that the eye and it's pressure will remain normal in appearance and healthy so that he can keep it.
[Photo description: Ollie wears an eye patch and holds Llama Llama Blue Pajamas in recovery after eye surgery at CHEO. His CHEO Buddy Steve is beside him wearing PPE (now finishing his third year of med school when he and Ollie were matched in his first) and was actually working on 4 North on this day and able to pop down to see Ollie in recovery.]
They did have to put oil bubbles in his eye this time to ensure that the pressure would be maintained and to preserve the shape of his eye, so this will need to be removed through another medical procedure in the OR sometime in the next 6-12 months.
Ollie had done great before surgery, remaining completely calm and actually even chose to go to surgery in a wheelchair without sedation and without me! My how far he's come in his courage facing all things medical!
After he was in recovery, though, as usual he had a hard time. It seems he had inherited his daddy's difficulty coming out of the anesthesia and tends to be angry. I got there and tried to calm him, offering hugs and food, but nothing was helping.
Thankfully his CHEO Buddy Steve (now finishing his third year in medical school) messaged me then to say he was done rounds on 4 North and he'd pop down to recovery to see Ollie if okay with us. Funny enough he's now often working on the very oncology ward where he first met Ollie in the first months of his first year of medical school. As an aside, he says Ollie really helped to prepare him to better understand what these kids go through and how to help them.
He came and totally helped Ollie to let the anger go and get out of his funk. I was so grateful for his help and remain so impressed by his bedside manner and easy way with patients. He's currently considered specializing in either family medicine or anesthesia and he'd be amazing in either role. He's exactly what our medical system needs. The right blend of confidence, yet humble, and most importantly empathetic and kind. We cannot wait to officially be able to call him Dr. Steve (for now I tease him that he's Almost Dr. Steve).
[Photo description: Ollie has his first post-operative visit with Dr. Dollin the day after surgery.]
The next day Ollie had a quick post- operative appointment to check things out and take off his patch. It was 8:30 on a Saturday morning at the Ottawa Hospital. I know many doctors today are judged for not doing enough, but our experience has totally been that they continue to go above and beyond to help Ollie.
[Photo Description: Ollie wakes up from a nap during his recovery time at home and discovers that Chewbacca had been snuggling with him!]
Overall, his recovery had gone pretty well. He's had a few moments of pain, but mostly just discomfort. He has been resting and recuperating for two weeks and went go back to school for the last 3 days this week.
[Photo Description: Ollie plays short stop during Beep Kickball practice.]
During his second week of recuperation he was allowed to start doing some not too strenuous activity. He had missed his first week of Beep Kickball practice the first week after surgery, so begged us to go for the second week. Beep Kickball is run by the Miracle League of Ottawa and is like soccer baseball for blind and low vision kids. Checking in with other parents who had gone the first week, they asked me the practices were pretty low key and he should be able to participate without overdoing it. He had a blast! We'll share more about this when the games begin.
[Photo Description: Ollie wears his Heroes Circle gi and yellow belt from Kids Kicking Cancer Canada while standing on a yoga mat and facing his Senseis Lyne and Gabriella as they explain to him how the class will go. All are masked.]
Ollie also got the chance to finally attend karate class in person with Kids Kicking Cancer Canada after 21 months of online classes with them! This is possible thanks to the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation allowing KKC to use the Maplesoft-Jones Cancer Centre and all attending masking to keep our little warriors healthy. We finally got to meet some of the families in person and it made me laugh when one said, "I'm not sure how to say this, but is your Ollie THE Pizza Ollie?!" LOL
[Photo Description: Ollie is ready to head out the door for First Communion and decides to wear Dad's fedora straw hat with his black shorts, white short-sleeve button down shirt, black bow tie with little crosses on it and his black sunglasses. He grins and gives a double thumbs up.]
Another big milestone we passed last weekend was Ollie' s First Communion! He's been sad that he hasn't gotten it yet thanks to the almost 3 year delay of cancer and was highly motivated in recent weeks to do the preparation for it. The timing was also good as we wanted our priest Monsignor Hans to say this mass before he left on sabbatical for a year.
[Photo Description: Abby, Mario, Ollie, Monsignor Hans and Dawn stand on the front steps of the church after Ollie' s first communion. Photo credit to Nada Yakoub with gratitude.]
It only seemed fitting to have both Monsignor and Deacon Bob do this mass as both have been great faith supports to our family during cancer and stem cell transplant. It was Monsignor who gave Ollie his Annointing of the Sick the day before he started chemo and came to see us in hospital before COVID, so it seemed fitting that he help us finish this part of Ollie's faith journey, too.
We would have loved to have had more people celebrating with us, but with COVID on the rise again we chose to do this on a Saturday night and keep things a bit quieter. We are grateful to the well-wishers who were at mass with us this weekend and all those who have prayed so hard for Ollie's wellness and strength for all of us.
Ollie was very reverent and so glad to do this. What a changed boy he is from the kid that had a hard time sitting through mass three years ago!
[Photo Description: Ollie blows out a birthday candle on his vanilla cupcake.]
Our incredible warrior hit another major milestone last week when he turned double digits! His 10th birthday was so joyous. His third birthday since diagnosis and the first where we could have a small party with some friends. A water gun fight at a local park with a few of his closest friends from school made him so happy and offered a relatively safe option despite COVID levels in the wastewater starting to increase here again.
And Samantha Smadella who wrote "Ollie's Telescope" came by on his birthday to deliver our copies and a special tactile version that she did for him so that he could experience it despite not being able to see it. It's clear to me that she's a fantastic recreation therapist because even though her course is done and the book was her final project, she spent hours customizing and laminating a special copy for him so that he could enjoy it like the other readers of his story will. You can still order copies here with all proceeds after the cost of printing going to the CHEO Foundation (now that Candlelighters Ottawa has merged with the CHEO Foundation).
[Photo Description: Ollie holds his new skateboard designed by his instructor, Jordan after having it outfitted with trucks, wheels and grip tape.]
Ollie was thrilled to receive a new skateboard deck from his instructor, Jordan Wells at The Yard for his birthday. Jordan had designed it himself and Ollie couldn't wait to try it and begged me to take him on his birthday to get new trucks, wheels and grip tape for it thanks to birthday money received from grandparents and aunts and uncles. He chose every part based on recommended options by Jordan and the sales person at the skate shop.
As usual Ollie shocked me with what he already knew about all of it and how logical he was about his choices. I loved that the salesperson didn't treat him like a little kid, but like an equal. He didn't have any trouble explaining to the blind skateboarding kid all of his options and letting him feel everything. He also got excited talking to Ollie about pro blind skateboarders Justin Bishop and Dan Mancina! I'm not sure which of them was more thrilled with the board when it was done! 😜
School finished this week. Ollie had a very successful grade 4 year and got caught up on most areas that he was behind in at the beginning of the year thanks to cancer and COVID. We will have some work to do in catching up in French (as did a lot of the kids who were virtual last year given the French instruction was spotty at best), but otherwise he's completely working at level. We will likely get him a French tutor to help more in the fall, but are so proud of his hard work this year. He jumped 3 grade levels in Braille alone and for a kid who started learning Braille just two years ago he's accomplished what is normally 6 years of Braille instruction in those 2 years.
[Photo Description: Abby receives her grade 8 diploma from her homeroom teacher at her graduation ceremony.]
And to end on another beautiful note, after a year that started off a bit shaky after getting back to school in person post cancer/stem cell transplant/ virtual school, Abby found her groove in these last months and finished her school year by graduating from grade 8. There was an actual grad ceremony, but they reduced the size by splitting the graduating class into three groups, minimized time indoors by not handing awards out at the ceremony and got everyone outside for drinks and visiting after. It was so sweet to see so many of her friends from St. George finally get a real graduation after being unable to finish grade 6 with an in person one as we were still in the early days of COVID with no vaccines then.
She's off to high school this fall in a school with a special arts focus and entering the writing program. We're super proud of her and cannot wait to see how she soars there.
We'll check in again in a few weeks as we have Ollie's second re-birthday (anniversary of stem cell transplant) coming up and we'll be taking him off of his cancer inhibitor drug since we're finally at the end of the two years.
Wishing you all a very happy Canada Day!
