Surgery, Sacrament and Celebrations

[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. 

[Photo Description: The whites of Ollie's left eye began looking yellow in the days just before he was scheduled to go for surgery.]

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! 

[Photo description: Dawn and Ollie do a selfie in the car before leaving CHEO after his eye surgery. Ollie is wearing a patch taped over his eye.]

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. 

[Photo description: Ollie, Dawn, Abby and Mario sit in a pew at the front of the church during Ollie' s First Communion mass. All pews around them are empty and all are wearing masks. Photo credit to Michelle Doucet with gratitude.]

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. 

[Photo description: Sam helps Ollie to feel the tactile version of "Ollie' s Telescope" that she made for him. Ollie feels the beads, fuzzy Hope, and hot glue outlines of the illustrations on the front cover. Two other children's faces are hidden with emojis.]

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. 

[Photo Description: Ollie sits in the store while trying on a new pair of skateboarding shoes and checking out his new board all ready to use.]

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! 😜

[Photo description: Ollie poses with a health class project he did recently where he had to come up with his own cereal, market it and share its nutritional information. Not surprisingly he called it, "CHEO Chews". Maybe a future fundraising idea for CHEO! LOL]

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!

New Year, Slow Start

Happy New Year to all! It's been over a month since we last posted and we've had a slow start to the new year thanks to COVID. Given the scary increase in cases and the fact that Ollie could only get his second vaccine in mid-January and needed two weeks for it to become effective, we made the difficult decision to keep the kids home from school.

[Photo description: Ollie and Mario are outside in the snow in the backyard holding sparklers on New Year's Eve. Ollie wears an orange ski jacket and a smile while holding a lit sparkler in each hand while Mario clowns astound behind him holding one and wearing orange glow stick eyeglasses.]

To backtrack, Christmas was quiet but lovely. We hadn't expected to do much given Ollie was recovering from his eye surgery (vitrectomy and laser surgery), but have been isolating basically since December 23rd given how many of our friends were getting COVID without really understanding how they were getting it because they were doing the same things they'd been doing all fall. It became obvious to us that our risk was very high and we decided to mitigate that by going into hiding from COVID again. 

[Photo description: Ollie sits on the sofa excitedly holding up a new Takara Tomy Beyblade on Christmas morning. Mario is seen to his right opening presents.]

Overall Ollie is doing well and his recovery from his eye surgery has been phenomenal. He had his one month post-op last week and the doctor was shocked at how well it all went and how quickly Ollie has healed. Another point scored for Abby's overachieving stem cells! He has been able to see more light and shadows lately. The other day he and I were playing with foam swords and when I was on his right he could easily find me even when I was being silent. He told me he could see me moving and my shadows in the light. 

Now we're waiting on the hospitals resuming normal surgical procedures so we can schedule the other eye. We're told it will likely be late February or early March if they can get a surgical date. I remain hopeful that his left eye will also be a vitreous detachment like his right was as opposed to the retinal detachment that they worried it might be. If this is the case, it would be amazing if he could recover some ability to see light in his left eye, too. They fear his optic nerve may be too damaged, but they also felt the same about the right one. As always Ollie's incredible ability to get through whatever challenge is thrown at him has helped him through and will no doubt continue to.

Other than the few critical medical appointments that Ollie had to attend, we've basically gone nowhere and done nothing that could be a risk for Ollie. Ollie got his second COVID vaccine on January 14th (7 weeks after his first) and because he is still considered immuno-compromised after transplant (and will be for about 3 years after) he'll need a third 4-8 weeks after his second. Because COVID cases have been rampant since the holidays, we opted to keep the kids home until Ollie's second vaccine became effective. The kids were not thrilled about it, but agreed that it was the best thing to keep Ollie safe until he was more protected.

[Photo description: Ollie gets his second COVID-19 vaccine at CHEO while wearing his red "One Year In Remission" t-shirt and a KN95 mask and holding Llama Llama Blue Pajamas for courage.]

Ollie's committed teachers all made it easier for us to do this by working together to ensure that we'd be supported while he had to be home. Ollie's amazing vision itinerant teacher agreed to teach him online each morning, getting his Math and Language curriculum from his english teacher so that she could teach these herself as well as his Braille. His french teacher posted French and Science content online for us to work on at home. His physical education teacher offered to have us come for the outdoor classes, but we opted out of these until he was fully vaccinated. Overall he's been very pragmatic about all of it because he knew we were all sacrificing to keep him safe. 

[Photo description: Ollie sits at the dining room table with his computer on the table in front of him while doing online learning. Hope lies on a dog bed at his feet on one side while Chewbacca lies on a chair on his other side.]

He's had a few online chats with friends over the past few weeks and continued to do Kids Kicking Cancer online. It has taken its toll on him though and he was astute enough to tell his psychologist this week that he felt that if he and Abby go back to school next week and we all get back to regular life everyone will argue less, be less stressed and be happier. The psychologist thought all of his observations and examples of anxiety for all of us were quite impressive for a nine year old.

[Photo description: Ollie stands on his exercise mat in the living room poised to do karate punches in front of a ring light and cell phone for his Kids Kicking Cancer online session.]

Abby's doing okay. It's been a tough few weeks for her being home and away from friends. Over the holidays she saw a couple of friends outdoors masked, but after school started we knew this was not a great idea and increased our risk. She reluctantly agreed to stay home, but begged me to allow her to go back as soon as Ollie's vaccine was effective. In truth I'd feel better if they stayed home a few more weeks until we are certain this wave is on the way out, but I can see that their mental health is suffering. In our case I think it is less about the actual isolation which we have gotten pretty good at over the past 26 months since diagnosis and more about the PTSD feelings that start to get stirred up as this feels like the scary times when he was undergoing chemo and transplant and we had to stay away from people to keep him alive. 

[Photo description: Abby and a friend have a masked visit outdoors under the outdoor heater with the fire table between them early in the new year.]

I've learned that I cannot control everything, but my risk management certification has helped me to identify what I can do to try to mitigate the risks. So I've focused the last few weeks on encouraging the school boards to allow teachers to disclose anything they know at the classroom level. The Ottawa Catholic School Board agreed last week to do this and to be honest I was less concerned about Ollie's school and community given how amazing they have been over the past two years of Ollie's illness and recovery. The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board was not so quick to agree to this. So I made a presentation at the online Board meeting (I come in at the 15:50 mark) last week thanks to a friend's suggestion.  The next day I was quoted in this Ottawa Citizen's article and I was contacted by the Director of Education's office and the school's principal to discuss ways that we could get more information to help to keep Abby safer so she is less likely to bring COVID home to Ollie.

The thing is, even if he's fully vaccinated, because of the chemotherapy, radiation and transplant, his body and organs have already been battered and I am fearful that the strain of COVID (even a potentially "milder" variant) on his body could cause further issues such as multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). We can't forget that due to his treatments he also has problems with his endocrine system that is causing hypothyroidism and osteoporosis in his back and hip and that he remains on a t-cell kinase inhibitor (TKI) drug that elevates his liver enzymes. While his kidneys and heart appear healthy in all recent tests, it is possible that COVID could change that given his medical history. And we all know about the ongoing reporting of "underlying health conditions" and "comorbidities" when it comes to COVID. It actually really makes me mad when people try to explain away COVID in vulnerable people by saying that they aren't sick or dying from COVID, but from these underlying health issues. The fact remains that at the moment my son is well despite all odds and if he were to get COVID and get sick again, it's because of COVID not because of the cancer he had. Without COVID those who are vulnerable can remain well. You can't excuse COVID for the damage it causes, even in those with previous or underlying health issues.

[Photo description: Ollie and his CNIB Buddy Dog Hope pose while on a walk at the snowy Experimental Farm at sunset. Ollie wears an orange ski jacket and black snow pants and holds his white cane in one hand and Hope's leash in his other. Hope sits at his feet.]

So we've worked out plans at both schools. Letters have been sent home to Abby's class and to Ollie's entire school to remind them that there is an immuno-compromised kid in the community whose safety depends on disclosure. I've also heard from several parents of Abby's new friends at her new middle school whom I didn't know before. They saw my plea to the Board and reached out to tell me that they will help to keep her safe and will let me know if they hear of anyone else in the class being sick, too. I am grateful for their kindness. I've had a lot of similar messages from the parents at Ollie's school, too. As always, we are so grateful for the village that helps us to raise our children. 

If you have a child in school right now and they become ill with any serious illness, please let your child's school know so that they can keep kids like Ollie safe. We don't know who is sick (unless the parents disclose directly to us) and are absolutely praying that your kid recovers quickly and fully both for your sake and for ours. As the mother of a cancer and stem cell transplant survivor, I can absolutely tell you that I will never judge you for your child's exposure to illness and never want you to go through the agony of seeing your child suffer from a serious illness the way that we have. 

In other news, right after Christmas CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning aired the story of Ollie getting back on his skateboard after going blind. He was really proud of this interview and what he's accomplished with his instructor Jordan at The Yard. CBC also tweeted a short video of him on his board. He is a complete marvel.

[Photo description: A masked Ollie sits on a bench made out of snowboards next to his masked skateboard instructor Jordan while being interviewed by Denise Fung of CBC Radio for the Ottawa Morning piece. Ollie wears his skateboarding shoes and pads and holds his white cane with a large red rolling ball tip while Jordan still wears his pads and helmet. Denise is kneeling nearby and holding a recording device and microphone.]

Ollie is also participating for his second year in the Snow Angels for CHEO fundraiser to raise money for the Oncology Ward (4 North) and the Medical Day Unit (MDU) at CHEO. The idea is that you do a snow angel in your bathing suit and get others to pledge/donate when you do. Snow Angels in your bathing suit are optional and last year Ollie was just out of transplant, so paranoid mom wouldn't allow him to do one that way with organizer Roland and fellow CHEO kid Jakob. I promised him if he was well enough this year he could. Ollie loves a challenge, especially a physical one that makes him feel really alive, so he begged me to let him do it this year. On the day we got 40+ centimetres of fresh snow and it was -4 versus the -20 it had been for days, I finally caved and let him do his snow angel in his bathing suit. There is nothing this kid wouldn't do to help others survive what he has. If you are able to donate we'd so appreciate it! 

[Photo description: Ollie does a snow angel in his bathing suit in the backyard on fresh fluffy snow in balmy -4 weather for the Snow Angels for CHEO 2022 Campaign]

On Monday, January 31st the kids were excited and treat to go back despite mom's reservations and anxiety about it. Both got up and eagerly got ready. Just as Abby was eating breakfast we got a call from her principle saying that someone in her class had a positive COVID test on Sunday night. Abby was very upset, but grudgingly accepted her fate and grumpily stayed home. She'll be home the rest of the week and if there are no other cases in her classroom she can try again next Monday. She was naturally upset that Ollie could go, but as we explained to her he was actually less risk since he was going to be one on one with his Vision Itinerant teacher and Abby had been the one that got him all excited Abbott going back afar he was okay with being home, st we couldn't take that away from him, too. She said it was unfair, but did admit that she knew he'd been home for two solid years without daily interaction with friends already. We told them both that none of what we're been through the past 26 months is fair, but we still have to keep going and make the best of a bad situation. 

We are grateful to Abby's classmate's family for disclosing and even more so to her classmate themself who actually sent a message to her entire class on Snapchat to let them all know she was positive. Abby read us the comments. Every one of them was kind, wishing that the classmate would quickly recover, not have serious illness and be back with them soon. Imagine if all of us did that for each other instead of stigmatizing others for having it? It's everywhere now and even people we know who have been so careful have it and are unsure how, so no point in blaming people for living and getting sick - we all used to, remember?! Also hope that this is a lesson to parents with older kids to encourage that their kids share that they are sick with classmates so they can keep reach other safe, too. We didn't used to hide that we had the flu or colds from each other, so why would we for COVID? Having just been through one of the most personal illnesses I can ever imagine having, I can assure you that being open and honest with your community about your family's illness will enable all of you to keep each other safer and back on the road to wellness.

[Photo description: Dawn and Ollie sit in the sofa while Hope has flopped down in between them and is lying on her back with her nose in the air and her feet up in a submissive pose.]

I'm scared about the next transitions that COVID will bring, but we survived the almost unfathomable things that we did, so we'll weather whatever comes next. Sending you all best wishes for a healthy and happy 2022. It's got to be better than the last two for all of us!

Vision for the Holidays and 2022

[Photo description: Ollie is dressed in a hospital gown and snuggled by Dawn as both wear masks and sit in the waiting room at CHEO's Surgical Day Unit.]

Ollie had eye surgery on his right eye at CHEO on Wednesday, December 15th. He was a bit nervous the night before and the day of, but overall in good spirits and a total trooper as we got ready and set out for CHEO that morning. 

As usual he wasn't thrilled about the waiting, but at least he's no longer on steroids like he was during cancer treatment. Then he used to rage if he waited too long for anything, especially when he was NPO (Latin for not by mouth or no eating before surgery). 

[Photo description: Ollie waits in the waiting room of the Surgical Day Unit while playing with fidget toys to pass the time.]

He was getting a bit grumpy by noon when he was in the Surgical Day Unit ready to go and just waiting for them to take him in. After getting his vitals checked and having drops put in his eyes, the nurse gave him a new owl stuffie as a reward for his patience and cooperation. 

Finally, about 20 minutes later than planned, they came to get us. On our way into the prep/recovery area, Ollie had a little bout of nerves. It was weird this time because he's never been well/strong enough to walk in instead of being wheeled in on a gurney. He got angry at me when I made him go to the bathroom (I had to remind him that if he didn't he might have an accident when he was sedated), then burst into tears. Naturally this was just as the doctors had arrived and wanted to talk to me about the plan. 

[Photo description: Ollie wears a hospital gown, hospital pants and mask while sitting in the waiting room with his white cane and new owl stuffie.]

Thankfully they were preoccupied with finding the anesthesiologist who had been delayed in her earlier surgery, so they gave us a few moments to get ourselves together and ready. As he hugged me and calmed down, Ollie was very apologetic for his outburst. I reassured him that he didn't have to apologize for feeling overwhelmed, everything was going to be okay, and surgery was going to go well. After some big hugs, Ollie was ready to go. 

To my great surprise, despite COVID-19 risks they allowed me to walk him right into the operating room. This required me to be in full PPE, but made both of us feel more comfortable. It was an OR way in the back of CHEO and the largest I had ever been in with Ollie. The anesthesiologist knew Ollie from previous surgeries and procedures and was so kind as always. Ollie being the pro he is had asked to be sedated with the gas (what a bizarre world we've lived in that my 9 year old knows the menu of sedation options). The anesthesiologist was happy to give him what he asked for and even made the gas smell like strawberries, so he was out before he counted to 20. 

They invited me to kiss his head through my mask and promised they'd take great care of him. I thanked them profusely and walked out feeling confident that they would keep him safe. Honestly this was easiest of all of the many times I've had to leave him in the hands of the amazing team at CHEO because I knew it was going to work out.

[Photo description: Dawn and Ollie take a selfie in recovery after Ollie's surgery. Ollie is wearing an eye patch and lying in a hospital bed looking tired.]

Dr. Michael Dollin (retina specialist at the Eye Institute at The Ottawa Hospital) and Dr. Jeff Mah performed his victrectomy and lasering. Surgery took about two hours, and they came down to see me in the waiting room afterwards, smiling behind their masks (you can tell). They were happy to report that surgery went as well as they could have hoped and he was doing great in recovery. They confirmed that it hadn't been a retina detachment, but indeed a vitreous detachment (as suggested in the MRI report, but could have gone either way). They were able to repair the main blood vessel attached to his retina to restore proper blood flow, clear out that pool of blood that had been obstructing the bit of peripheral vision he had before, and had put a half gas bubble and a couple of stitches in his eye to hold everything in place. Both will dissolve as he heals.

[Photo description: Ollie feeds himself chicken noodle soup with rice at home.]

Unfortunately, they reported that he did have the beginnings of cataracts in his lens (very common in cancer patients after chemo), so they decided to remove it because it was not usable for him that way anyways and healthier to remove it.  The lens is used for focusing (just like the lens of a camera) and because his optic nerves are already severely damaged from the lymphoma, even with a healthy lens he wouldn't be able to see details right now. Our goal is to keep his eyes healthy so that as science evolves and it is possible to fix his optic nerves, he may have the possibility of more sight one day if he wants it. Dr. Dollin explained that it is already possible to have an intraocular lens (IOL) implanted and as science advances and his optic nerves can be fixed, they could add an IOL in future to enable him to see again. Overall I was so grateful that everything went well and glad I'd listened to my mother's intuition again and pushed for the surgery because it was successful.

[Photo description: Ollie sits on the sofa with a table and a Beyblade stadium in front of him as he prepares to rip his Keyboard and Mario's hands can be seen reading to rip.]

Ollie was groggy in recovery, but felt okay otherwise. He was thirsty and eager to leave and go to McDonald's since he hadn't eaten all day. Given he was still tired, he rode out in a wheelchair and Mario picked us up. By the time we got home and he gobbled down McDonald's, he was almost back to normal. He is absolutely incredible.

When he discovered he was well enough to Beyblade, all was right in his world again! 😜  He honestly he's had no pain, just some minor itchiness as the sedation came out. He has two eye drops to take four times daily for the next few weeks until the eye is healed.

[Photo description: Ollie sits on the sofa wearing a t-shirt shirt and pajama pants with Santa hats beside Hope.]

He slept well and got up early. About mid-morning we went to The Eye Institute for a post-operative check-up. Everything looked great, there was minimal bleeding from the surgery and Ollie felt good. He was able to see light already and the doctor expects it will get even better as it heals. He'll continue to be legally blind, but it looks likely that he'll recover some peripheral vision to see shapes and shadows. We were told to just have him wear the eye shield to sleep and by day only wear the patch if he felt he needed to. 

[Photo description: Dr. Mah examines Ollie's eye in a darkened room at The Eye Institute the day after surgery.]

The hardest part about his recovery was just keeping him calm and inactive. Thankfully he didn't need to have a full gas or oil bubble in his eye and have to stay face down for days, so that was a relief. We'd read about how this surgery could require complete bed rest and doing nothing for up to 4 weeks! Naturally Ollie  continued to be full of energy after surgery, so there was a lot of me reminding him not to bend, bounce, run, yell, or get angry. We needed to keep his pressure down to minimize any bleeding. The week went fairly well.

[Photo description: Ollie clowns around while leaving The Eye Institute, holding his cane like a sword and wearing a black eye patch like a pirate.]

Six days later we went back to The Eye Institute and Dr. Dollin said everything looked great, his pressure was normal and declared him already able to get back to "normal daily activities". I explained to Ollie that this still meant he needed to take it somewhat easy and there would be no skateboarding or sports yet. Dr. Dollin gave us instructions to taper his drops over the coming weeks and said he'd see us in 3-4 weeks when we could talk about a plan to do the second eye since the first went so well! 

Victory! I feel vindicated after being the pushy mama for the past 9 months since I noticed Ollie struggling in the darkness and insisted we needed to fix this if we could. I am grateful as always to Ollie's brilliant, yet humble doctors who treat me like a partner in his care and listen, even when they may at first think I am the overreacting mama. 

[Photo description: Ollie and Mario stand in front of the Christmas tree wearing matching work overalls, t-shirt shirts and tuques. They are smiling while Mario has his arm around Ollie.]

With COVID numbers exploding everywhere (it's estimated that numbers are at least three times higher than reported since so many people are isolating and there aren't enough COVID test), we're still trying to keep Ollie from getting it, even if Omicron seems to be a milder form. The thing is he only had one vaccine so far and we don't know what his short- or long-term effects might be if he got it as a stem cell transplant recipient. Sadly we know many families now who have gotten it here and in Toronto and are facing Christmas in isolation. We feel for these families and hope they'll weather it easily and quickly. A Christmas in isolation certainly is not the worst that can happen to a family, as we know too well. This is our third in isolation and we'd do as many as needed to keep our family safe and well. 

[Photo description: The package received from Santa through Canada Post elves. The envelope is shown at the top, Abby's printed letter on Christmas paper is on the left and Ollie's Braille letter is on the right.]

We'll end on a happy note because despite everything, we are here, happy, healthy and grateful. 

Ollie asked me to write down his Christmas Letter to Santa as he dictated it months ago. In it he asked for not only a toy for himself, but also that Santa bring something special for his sister Abby who had given him stem cells so he could live (my eyes were leaking as I wrote it). Before sending it off via Canada Post, I added a note that mommy had written what he dictated because he went blind during cancer treatment, but was doing great thanks to his stem cell transplant.

This week a package arrived from Santa addressed to Ollie & Abby. There was a lovely letter for Abby (even though she never wrote him one) that noted that she was a true hero because of  her "overachieving stem cells". It also mentioned Ollie's CNIB Buddy Dog Hope! Clearly the Canada Post volunteer elves did their research and knew our story! 

In addition and inspiring my tears again was a letter in Braille for Ollie. He was so excited to receive it written in a way that he could read it! Many thanks to Canada Post and their amazing volunteer elves helping Santa to reach ALL kids! 

To close, please minimize or cancel your gatherings to reduce your risk of COVID. I know it's tempting to see everyone you planned to, but we'll all pay for it in early January when stats are even worse. Even if we don't end up in lockdown again, we'll likely end up home with online learning again if we can't control cases over the next 10 days. Trust me, when you're together with your immediate family or just a few trusted loved ones, the holidays can still be beautiful. Wishing you all safe and happy holidays.  Praying that 2022 is a better year for everyone!