2023: A Year of Advocacy and Constancy

In 46 BC (that's Before Christ, not before cancer) Julius Caesar redesigned the annual calendar to re-align it with the sun, after consultations with astronomers and mathematicians. He decided that January 1st would be the first day of the year in homage to the month’s namesake Janus. Janus was the Roman god of beginnings, whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future. This explains why most of us generally feel the need to look back on New Year's to see where we've come from, and forward toward where we hope the future will take us. 

In our family,  the look back has become easier over the last couple of years, because as we have gotten farther away from cancer and stem cell transplant, it's less painful to look back.  The looking forward is still challenging,  though, because through cancer we've learned that you have no real idea of what the future holds for you or how your life can completely change in a moment. So you tend not to think too far in advance, and you learn to simply live day by day during cancer,  grateful for the good days.  Thankfully our 2023 was a great one!

Our Year in Advocacy

I often get asked how we have the time and energy to do so much advocacy on top of work and school,  and the answer is that it is easy to do something that is so important and makes all of the agony that we had to go through meaningful. Ollie always has the choice to decide whether or not we do the advocacy opportunities that come along or not.  So far, he always wants to do it,  saying if we can help people,  we should.  I think it makes him feel good and builds his confidence and who doesn't want that for their child?! Especially one who is blind and will come up against social stigmas related to disabilities the rest of his life?! 

I keep thinking that people will get bored of hearing our story and when that happens, we'll know because the opportunities will stop coming,  but for now at least,  they still come often.  We also encourage other families like ours to share their stories, if it's right for them. We are thrilled that several have done so and tell us that it is in part because we've been brave enough to tell ours publicly and inspired them. This is how we all make positive change together. 

In addition to the specific advocacy activities below,  I am also grateful to be a member of the following committees and advisory groups:

- Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) for our school board

- Ontario Parents of Visually Impaired Children  (OPVIC) Board

- National Parent Voice for CNIB

- Kids Kicking Cancer Canada Ottawa Leadership Group

- CHEO Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC)

- CHEO Research Institute Family Leader 

- Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada Pediatric Advisory Committee (PAC)

- Advancing Childhood Cancer Experience, Science and Survivorship (ACCESS) Co-Leads

- In Guage - COVID-19 in Immuno-compromised Children Study Family Advisory Council (FAC)

Some are monthly, others every few months and a few are ad hoc as needed,  enabling me to do many activities.  I feel passionate and good about doing these things in my personal time and it is easier now that Ollie is well and the kids are older and need less moment to moment attention.

Here are the highlights of our year doing specific advocacy activities for Childhood Cancer and Vision Loss:

January:

- Ollie and I were part of the Canadian Cancer Society's national campaign on palliative care.  The short commercials were aired in TV across the country and various streaming services and it made us laugh to get messages from all over the country from excited friends and family who happened to see it and were surprised to see us! Ollie and I did an interview with the Ottawa Citizen for this campaign and he later landed on the front page of the Ottawa Citizen for the second time in the last 4 years (the first was when he got Hope from CNIB in 2021)!

- The 6th annual Snow Angels for CHEO Campaign launched (our 3rd year involved) and I did an interview with founder Roland ten Holder on CTV Ottawa Morning. 

- I made and shared on social media my 12th blood donation at Canadian Blood Services. 

[Photo Description: Ollie smiles and holds a printed copy of the Ottawa Citizen showing a photo of him in his skateboard with his mobility cane on the front page.]

February:

- Ollie's class did Snow Angels for CHEO together (his amazing teacher Mrs. Endicott got the kids involved and they raised money,  too!) with special guest CHEO Bear in attendance!

- We did a final Snow Angels for CHEO event at CHEO (where Ollie did a second snow angel in his bathing suit this year) to celebrate the $35,000 that we helped to raise this year!

- Ollie and I were featured in (and in the cover!) of our local magazine,  Neighbours of Westboro, talking about why we advocate for Childhood Cancer Awareness and vision loss awareness. 

[Photo Description: A photo of the cover of Neighbours of Westboro magazine for January 2023. Ollie and Dawn wear winter coats and stand outside of Ollie's Clubhouse close together and smiling. The subtitle reads, "Meet Ollie and Dawn!"]

March:

- Ollie and Hope made a presentation to a local Cub group to talk about guide dogs and how they help people with vision loss!

- Ollie,  Hope and I shot an episode of an AMI-TV series about guide dogs (see below for details on when it aired!).

April:

- Canadian Cancer Society national palliative care campaign and Ollie and I spoke at their day on Parliament Hill

- Ollie, and Hope spoke at a CNIB Guide Dogs event at the CNIB Ottawa Hub. 

- I made and shared on social media my 13th blood donation at Canadian Blood Services. 

[Photo Description: Ollie speaks to Parliamentarians from the  podium with Dawn standing beside him at the Canadian Cancer Society's day on Parliament Hill on April 2023. A Canadian flag hangs in the background and two Canadian Cancer Society cards with daffodils that say "get better" can be seen on a table in the foreground. Photo courtesy of the Canadian Cancer Society. ]

May:

- An episode that I had previously recorded with Accessible Media Inc. (AMI)'s Double Tap aired as a special Mother's Day episode. 

[Photo Description: Ollie and Sensei Lyne sit at the Kids Kicking Cancer Canada  both at the Ottawa Inclusion and Para Sports Expo in June 2023. Sensei Lyne holds up a copy of the KKCC Ollie's story leaflet with Ollie's photo on it. ]

June:

- We attended the Ottawa Inclusion and Para Sports Expo at Carleton University and Ollie helped Sensei Lyne do a last minute Kids Kicking Cancer Canada demonstration, where he taught everyone to do power breathing!

- The cheque presentation that Snow Angels for CHEO founder Roland and I did with Leanne Cusack aired on the CHEO Telethon and I got to update CHEO donors on Ollie's progress since he was in the Telethon in 2021!

- I spoke on behalf of Kids Kicking Cancer Canada Ottawa at the 100 Women Who Care dinner, which resulted in KKCC getting $2,000+ in donations to help us to help other kids living with pain in Ottawa. 

- Ollie made his school's Track and Field Team for Para Ball Throw and Para Track. His buddy Zach offered to be and was an amazing sighted guide.  There were tears from many and so many cheers as they crossed the finish line together.  Although this wasn't done for advocacy purposes,  I was so proud that with the permission of Zach's mom I posted it on social media.  The school board contacted me this fall along if they could use the photo and story in their Director's Annual Report to shine a light on inclusion and Zach, his mom,  Ollie and I were happy to give permission. This is how organic advocacy happens to us when we share amazing moments.

- Ollie loaned his story to the Ottawa Cancer Foundation for their Lemonade Standemonium (an event Abby and I had helped with the year before Ollie's diagnosis) and although he was ill and couldn't come out that day,  I helped Kids Kicking Cancer Canada and Split Tree Cocktail to do a lemonade stand in gratitude for the dojo space that the Ottawa Cancer Foundation donates weekly to Kids Kicking Cancer Canada Ottawa Chapter. 

[Photo Description: A screen capture of a Kids Kicking Cancer Canada Instagram post of our lemonade stand with Dawn,  Sensei Lyne and Sensei Martina behind the stand on Split Tree Cocktail's patio.  Not pictured is Sensei Julie whose husband Steve owns Spilt Tree and provided the space and kitchen access. Photo courtesy of Julie Thompson.]

July:

- I made and shared on social media my 14th blood donation at Canadian Blood Services. 

August:

- The episode of Blind Trust: A Guide Dog's Journey, called Lost Dogs featured Ollie and Hope (with me in a supportive role as Ollie basically did this interview on his own) aired on AMI-TV.

September:

- For Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, as usual we did a lot of advocacy online.  We also did the Jesse McLean 5 km Memorial Wall to benefit Kids Kicking Cancer Canada Ottawa Chapter. And as usual,  Ollie participated in his school's annual Terry Fox Walk/Run, only given we were in Toronto for a CNIB event,  we did the walk together in Toronto. 

- I spoke at the CNIB Launch of the Strategic Plan in Toronto and Ollie and I represented CNIB Lake Joe camp at the Information Fair at the event.

[Photo Description: Ollie helps Rhonda from CNIB Toronto and Becky from CNIB Ottawa in testing a Braille Lego Exhibit before the CNIB Toronto Strategic Plan Launch and Info Fair in the CNIB Toronto Community Hub.]

October:

- Ollie and I spoke on a panel on patient-centred care at the SIOP international pediatric oncology conference that was hosted in Ottawa.  I also had the opportunity to speak on a panel as a volunteer about the work of the Canadian Pediatric Cancer Consortium (now called ACCESS - see below).

- Ollie and I attended the Kids Kicking Cancer Canada Ottawa Chapter golf tournament as ambassadors again and had a fun day. 

- I made and shared on social media my 15th blood donation at Canadian Blood Services. 

- Ollie and family attended a special event to meet and teach Mixed Martial Arts Champion Georges Ste-Pierre (GSP) with Kids Kicking Cancer Canada as part of the Fight for the Cure event.  

[Photo Description: Dawn speaks at the podium with Ollie standing beside her during the SIOP international pediatric oncology conference in Ottawa. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Grover from ACCESS.]

 November:

- Ollie and I spoke on a family panel for the launch of the CNIB Children's Charter on Parliament Hill on International Day of the Child. We were also interviewed about it by Capital Current. 

- The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada came to one of Ollie's Blind Hockey practices to get some footage of him playing and to interview the two of us about his cancer journey and resulting blindness for their Dare to Dream project.  The project aims to improve the quality of life of every child with a blood cancer and to help find less harsh drugs that cause fewer side effects. The video is expected to launch early in 2024.

- Ollie and I spoke to a group of staff at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada online about what it is like to live through childhood cancer. This is to inform their revamp of their materials for children,  adolescents and young adults and caregivers. 

- Ollie,  Hope and I participated in the annual Carleton Place Santa Claus parade on the CNIB Guide Dogs float for the third year in a row!

[Photo Description: Ollie holds a copy of the new CNIB Children's Charter at the event on Parliament Hill where he and Dawn spoke on a family panel.  He also holds his mobility cane.  The CNIB both can be seen behind him to his right and takes of attendees are behind him. ]

December:

- As one of the Persons With Lived Experience (PWLE) Co-Leads for the Education and Training theme,  I attended the inaugural annual general meeting of the Advancing Childhood Cancer Experience, Science and Survivorship (ACCESS - formerly the Canadian Pediatric Cancer Consortium or CPCC) and participated in three days of meetings with other PWLEs, clinicians and researchers about how we can all work together to do better for kids fighting cancer in Canada,  particularly those like Ollie that relapse.

- I recorded an episode of a podcast about being a cancer parent with dear friend and fellow cancer mama Sam Taylor (whom I was connected with by her best friend and my fellow CNIB Buddy Dog mama Aubray, after Sam's daughter was diagnosed with cancer in fall 2022) for her upcoming series The Deep C Podcast which launches in January 2024!

[Photo Description: Dawn poses in front of the ACCESS banner at the inaugural annual general meeting.]

Our Family's Year

In addition to the advocacy,  we had a pretty good personal year for the whole family,  too.  

Ollie finished a great year in grade 5,  had a terrific summer going to CNIB Lake Joe for 3 weeks again this year, and spent 2 with his CNIB Ottawa friends doing fun day camps here,  too.  He had a terrific year in blind hockey,  ending last season strong with the national blind hockey tournament in Toronto. There one of the national team's goalies convinced him he should try goalie, as it is a great position for someone who is totally blind like Ollie.  So this fall,  Ollie learned to be goalie for his Ottawa 67s Blind Hockey team and is loving it! Not sure dad is loving lugging all of the equipment though! LOL  

[Photo Description: Ollie in his goalie equipment in net for a practice with the Ottawa 67s Blind Hockey team in November 2023.]

In addition, he made great progress on his skateboarding again this year, got CNIB to hold a skateboarding try it day with the Ottawa Skateboarding Association, and continues to work with his instructor Jordan.  In Kids Kicking Cancer martial arts,  Ollie got his orange belt in the summer, and this fall he got to meet Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) champion Georges Ste-Pierre (GSP) at the Fight for the Cure event.

[Photo Description: Ollie and GSP take fighting and guard stances to pose for a photo.  Ollie is wearing his gi with an orange belt and his mobility cane is leading on the wall behind them. ]

In May Abby and I were beyond lucky to go to the Taylor Swift #ErasTour concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It was a truly epic weekend and a special opportunity that was all about Abby in recognition of all that she sacrificed for her brother the past few years,  and the hard work that she'd put in at school in 2021-2022 despite its challenges.  Watching Abby's joy and wonder at the in person concert of a talented and giving artist who meant so much to her during the hardest time in her life was very emotional for me and made me feel even more gratitude for where we are today versus where we were 4 years ago at this time.  

[Photo Description: Dawn and Abby singing while taking a selfie at the Taylor Swift #ErasTour. Other singing fans can be seen behind us and we are barged in pink lights from the stage. ]

In July we just relaxed and took some vacation to recharge (hence no July advocacy events listed above). We started by visiting my family in Chatham- Kent for the first time since cancer and the pandemic, now that Ollie is fully vaccinated.  From there we went to CNIB Lake Joe for Ollie to attend hockey camp on his own again this year and Abby, Mario and I rented a cottage nearby again on Healey Lake.  It was a great opportunity to spend devoted time with Abby again, and help to make up for time we missed together with her when Ollie's illness often took us away from her. 

We also joyfully celebrated Ollie's third re-birthday and Abby's third hero day. 

[Photo Description: Abby,  Dawn's mom Luann,  Ollie,  Dawn and Hope are arm in arm during a family visit in Chatham-Kent in July 2023.]

In August we really enjoyed our family time at CNIB Lake Joe year because it was our first time attending Family Week versus Holiday Week, and we met many more families with kids, and got to catch up with other families we've met through our various activities in the blind and low vision community the past 2 years. Ollie and I stuck around in Muskoka for another week to attend CNIB Buddy Dog Camp and it was even bigger and better than the first year.  Spending time with this community is healing and validating in ways I can't adequately explain.  Watching your child with vision loss comfortably and confidently do everything anyone else can do in a safe and accommodated environment gives you a window into what the world could be like for all people with disability, if we only made the world more accessible for them.  It inspires us to take this view into the world through our advocacy all year. 

[Photo Description: Ollie and CNIB Buddy Dog Hope and Dawn and CNIB Guide Dog Sherman pose for a photo on the boat dock at CNIB Lake Joe.  Both dogs were puppy raised by Cathy Kieran.]

Abby worked all summer with kids and enjoyed it so she continues to work with them a couple of days a week after school. Her new school is a much better fit for her and she is doing well. 

Mario is as always stoic and constant.  He continues to work from home for the most part and spends a lot of time with the family. He is adjusting to the kids growing up and changing rapidly.  Neither of us can believe how fast it is all happening now that we are no longer watching the cancer days crawl by.  

We spent more time this year with dear friends, and I overcame my anxiety of being in large groups since Ollie's illness.  Overall we've been well other than minor viruses (all vaccinated for flu and COVID this fall and happy to report that so far we have avoided both) and we've all paid more attention to our health this year,  taking care of minor health issues that have taken a back seat to the more major ones in our family over the past few years. 

Hope and Chewbacca continue to provide lots of love and comfort to all of us and eat far too many treats! LOL

So like 2022, 2023 has been a really good year for our family.  We remain grateful for this constancy after so much upheaval and uncertainty.  We just wish that all cancer families could get to stability and wellness,  too,  and that all kids with vision loss could thrive,  so we continue our efforts in both areas into 2024! Thanks for your ongoing love and support.  Count your blessings this New Year's Day and wishing you all a happy and healthy 2024!

[Photo Description: Abby, Mario,  Ollie and Dawn take a selfie during a dinner over the Christmas holidays recently. Abby and Mario are wearing paper crowns from their Christmas crackers. ]

A big, beautiful, blind life (with lots of hockey!)

Wow! We haven't written anything since early January, so we're happy to tell you that Ollie is still doing great and keeping busy! In addition to his usual weekly activities of skateboarding and Kids Kicking Cancer Canada's Heroes' Circle martial Arts program, the last few months have been filled with the Ottawa 67s Blind Hockey/Canadian Blind Hockey Association season, and the 6th annual (third year involved for us and it was the most successful yet - final amount raised to be announced soon!) Snow Angels for CHEO campaign with Ollie's class participating and doing  special group snow angels to help!

We also participated in a bunch of special events and activities such as: 

- Ollie's class went cross country skiing; 

- Attending an Ottawa Senators game against Colorado in the Wade's World Suite with friends thanks in part to the CHEO Foundation; 

- Presenting the CNIB Buddy Dog program at a Scouts Canada Cubs meeting;

- The Canadian Cancer Society's Palliative Care campaign commercial ran on networks and streaming services across the country  (Ollie loved the excited messages from people across the country saying they'd seen him on TV!) and Ollie's photo was once again on the front page of the Ottawa Citizen from our interview with them in support of the campaign; and

- We filmed an episode of an upcoming AMI-TV 6-part documentary series on Guide Dogs to represent the CNIB Buddy Dog.

Funny...when I write it all down I realize that winter really has been busy! I wondered why I couldn't find time to update the blog! 😂 And I am only doing it now because I happen to have down time on the way back from Toronto where we had the latest event...the 2023 Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament! What an incredible weekend! 

[Photo description: Ollie models his new Canadian Blind Hockey shirt while getting ready for the Multisports Day of the 2023 Canadian National Blind Hockey Tournament. CNIB Buddy Dog Hope lies in the floor beside him wearing her best and halty while Mario peeks around from behind Ollie.]

The tournament was the biggest ever held by the Canadian Blind Hockey Association and was an invitational, so a handful of kids from Ollie's Ottawa team went. The event took place at the old Maple Leaf Gardens/current Mattamy Athletic Centre for Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly known as Ryerson University), so Mario was almost as psyched as Ollie, telling Ollie that he was having an experience in Toronto that his daddy had never had, skating on "hallowed ground". It is also located right downtown, so we stayed just two blocks from where we lived near Sick Kids Hospital for 5 months during Ollie's stem cell transplant in 2020.

[Photo description: Mario is driving while Dawn takes a family selfie on the way to Toronto for the hockey tournament. A smiling Ollie and Abby (with an Emoji head - she asked that her face not be shown as she was just waking up) were in the back.]

We took the whole family, having talked about whether it might be triggering to be in the same neighbourhood filled with so many of our hardest memories, and deciding everyone was okay and could handle it. I don't think it was a coincidence that we also traveled there on the exact day that three years before we'd traveled to the same neighbourhood for our first (false) attempt at transplant in the first week of the first pandemic lockdown. My how far we've come mentally and physically to get here now!

[Photo description: The family driving to Toronto for Ollie's first (false) attempt at transplant in March 2020. The van was packed full and Ollie needed morphine to manage the pain of sitting after being bedridden for the 2 months since he'd relapsed in his central nervous system and went blind.]

All weekend long I felt emotional, grateful, nostalgic...fighting tears - both good and bad. As we walked the same streets and took Hope to the same park that I'd once screamed and cried in when he'd relapsed there the second time and we'd been told maybe we shouldn't treat him and cause him more pain or sudden death. Thank GOD we didn't accept that. As I sat watching him playing hockey and meeting old and new friends all weekend with such incredible joy, I was struck again and again with how lucky and blessed we are. How much I could not have imagined being in this position three years before when everything seemed desperate and near impossible. We hear often what an inspirational story his is and I really felt that myself all weekend.

[Photo description: Ollie tries the most challenging rock wall with various angles at the bottom of the wall during Multisports Day.]

The weekend started with a Multisports Day sponsored by the Government of Canada - Sport Canada. Here kids with vision loss got to try rock climbing, ball hockey, soccer, tennis, basketball, and an obstacle course. In typical Ollie fashion, having done rock climbing before at CNIB Lake Joe and being among the biggest kids, he started on the hardest rock wall. It had a strange angle that made it the most challenging.wall. Ollie first attempted it on his own and was struggling. I went over to take a pic and asked if he'd prefer to start with an easier wall and when he said yes, we asked and were told he'd have to wait a few minutes for one to be available. I let him know he'd need to wait and turned away to talk to another parent. Moments later when I turned back to Ollie there he was high on the hardest wall having quietly decided not to let it best him.

[Photo description: Ollie on the hardest rock wall nearly at the top on attempt #2. The kid just won't give up. Thank God!]

He quickly finished his climb to the top and promptly repelled down and dramatically collapsed. When we recovered, he told me his arms felt like rubber. I asked if he wanted a break and then to do an easier wall. He told me when you have done the hardest things you already know you can do the easier stuff. What a kid! 

[Photo description: Ollie dramatically lies on the floor on his back after his challenging climb, while still connected to the rope while Mario and an instructor lean over to talk to him.]

The actual hockey tournament began  Friday with various divisions playing including the Children and Youth Divisions where most of the people we knew were playing. There was also a three game series of the National Team Canada vs. USA Men's Hockey Teams battling for the cup (Canada won the series).

[Photo description: Ollie and the Children's yellow/67s Team on the bench with their coach for the weekend]

Ollie was #55 (for staying alive we joked) yellow/67s Team in the Children's Division and while it was clear that his full blindness made his participation more challenging than for those with low vision, he had a blast, did all he could to contribute and was happiest playing in net where he could easily hear the puck coming at him. His Ottawa coaches were there, too and commented that maybe next year we should start training him to be a real goalie. Normally for the Children's Division they don't dress a goalie, but they do for the youth division. The hockey was fun to watch and the kids worked hard (they played one game each of the 3 days of the tournament) and had a blast off the ice, too. 

[Photo description: Ollie #55 yellow talks to the ref at centre ice before a play begins with players from both teams gathering for the puck drop.]

I think my two favourite moments of the tournament were in the last game at the end. The first was when the buzzer went signaling the end of the game, which Ollie's team won. While I knew winning would make him and his friends feel great, that's not what made it best. It was that his Ottawa friend Jack immediately skated over to the net where Ollie was playing and grabbed Ollie in the biggest hug!

[Photo description: Jack hugs Ollie in net after their big win. Photo courtesy of Jack's mom, Allysun.]

Then Jack let Ollie grab his back while he lead Ollie back to the bench. In blind hockey typically the players with more sight use a hockey stick to tow those with no vision (often the goalies) back to the bench. No man left behind.

[Photo description: Teammate and friend Jack leads Ollie back from the net to the bench after winning their team's final game. Photo courtesy of Jack's mom, Allysun.]

The second was during the medal presentation. Really they were all getting participation medals no matter who won, but my pent up emotions started leaking at how proud they all were, how much they'd all worked so hard and improved this year and how Ollie cheered as they announced all of his friends from his tournament team and his Ottawa friends on the other team, too.

[Photo description: Ollie puts his gloved fist in the air, cheering for his  friends as they received their end of tournament medals.]

The CNIB was a sponsor of the tournament so we also got to finally meet in person staff from the Toronto office whom we have met many times online and there were lots of awesome cross-over situations like seeing CNIB Lake Joe staff who are university students in Toronto and were volunteering, and other CNIB Guide Dogs Buddy Dog program families that we've either met at last summer's Ontario Buddy Dog Camp at CNIB Lake Joe or we've met from other parts of the country in the online CNIB Buddy Dog group. It was so fun to have Hope there who was so well behaved all weekend and to meet a few of the other new Buddy Dogs like Terry and Georgie, too! 

[Photo description: CNIB Buddy Dog Hope on the right with Ollie and Mario meets Buddy Dog Terry with Gabriel's mom, Melissa at the Parasports Day.]

My final favourite moment was Ollie meeting Curtis Ruttle today who played a big role in getting Ollie back to skateboarding after he went blind. When Ollie went blind during cancer and was having his stem cell transplant at Sick Kids Hospital (just down the street from the former Maple Leaf Gardens/now Mattamy Athletic Centre where the tournament was), he asked if he'd ever be able to skateboard again and mom told him she didn't know, but if there was a way we'd find it and try. 

[Photo description: Curtis Ruttle and Ollie meeting for the first time at the tournament in the Mattamy Athletic Centre.]

About two years ago and almost a year after transplant when Ollie was fully recovered,  we saw a social media posting from CNIB highlighting the ALT Route Projects where blind and low vision youth in Calgary were skateboarding. Mindful of this, mom was inspired to contact The Yard Ottawa about Ollie's wish to skateboard blind. Their incredible response was, "Let's get Ollie back in the skate park!", and they connected us with his new instructor, Jordan Wells.

Jordan and mom contacted The ALT Route Projects and connected with Curtis Ruttle who was then the passionate 16 year old who wrote the grant proposals, did the promotions and was the energy behind the project. He was super helpful in getting Ollie started with blind skateboarding safely. 

Today Curtis and Ollie got to finally meet in person at the tournament and talk about exciting ideas to expand the program in Ottawa and to other centres across the country! 

[Photo description: Ollie wearing his medal and sitting in the dressing room after the last game while he takes off his gloves.]

Ollie told me this morning how sad he was to be leaving and that the tournament was over. He met so many awesome new friends from across the country and connected with friends made virtually and in person through CNIB the past two years. We talked to so many parents and staff about the incredible CNIB Buddy Dog program, talked about ways to make programs and services even better for children and youth with vision loss in this country. 

I left feeling grateful and inspired to keep helping Ollie to live his best life. This is the life that I predicted he'd have but couldn't truly fully visualize after he went bind and we told the doctors when they didn't know if it was temporary or permanent that if they just saved his life we'd give him a big, full and beautiful one - no matter what. Thank you to all who help us to give him this incredible life.

[Photo description: Ollie receiving an emergency blood transfusion at Sick Kids Hospital on this very day three years ago, March 26, 2020. So grateful to be where we are today.]