PICC, Positivity and Prayers

Together at last...after 11 days admitted to CHEO and 6 weeks before that constantly juggling our lives around medical tests, we're so happy to just be home together. 

Even Chewbacca and Minou are content that the family is finally home together and Christmas is coming.

Monday we had to go back to CHEO to have Ollie's PICC (the semi-permanent tubes inserted in his arm to give easy access to his vein for medications and blood tests) flushed and hepronized as this is needed every day. Basically it's to ensure that the PICC doesn't clot or get contaminated to avoid having to replace it, since it took a procedure in the OR under general anesthesia to put it in. Plus the PICC helps him to avoid more "pokes" with needles each time. In hospital the nurses suggested that we eventually learn how to do this to give our family greater freedom and reduce our need to go to CHEO or work around Homecare. Since Homecare hadn't been organized to come to our house for Monday (remember we got out a day earlier than planned), back we went to CHEO. 

Ollie using his new Nintendo Switch while waiting in the Medical Day Unit (MDU) at CHEO.

I can tell Ollie is accepting and getting used to the new normal because in the past he would have kicked up a fuss about having to go back to a place he felt was not fun. To my great surprise he just asked me to verify that we were NOT spending the night and when I confirmed this, he quickly got ready, and was delighted to realize he could take his portable Nintendo Switch with him. 

Unfortunately due to some miscommunication and a really busy day, the team they paged twice to do Ollie's line never showed up, so we waited over two hours to have a very simple thing done. This was motivation for me to learn how to do this at home myself, but more on this later.

I think we were meant to be in MDU longer to get to know some other families there. There were two other families in MDU Monday that had also been admitted and were on our ward at the same time last week. Ironically when you're admitted, people keep to themselves. Aside from the odd hello in the halls, playroom or kitchenette, families don't really interact with other families. It's like while there you need to save all of your energy for your own kid and to survive it yourself and you don't have an ounce left to give to getting to know someone new. As a highly social person who loves to meet new people I found this strange, but also weirdly comforting that I could be more introverted at a time when I was processing so many life changing events at once.

So in MDU Monday, a super sweet mom we had seen on 4 North said, "Hey! You guys got out!" (like it was a jailbreak...LOL). We began chatting about our kiddos and their journeys.  I hadn't realized her son is same age as Ollie, as he is developmentally delayed, so he seems younger, plus Ollie is a tall giant compared to most kids his age. Her son was very sweet and has the coolest hats with fun characters on them. Another family from 4 North seemed agitated to be there as they were late for some other event. They mainly kept to themselves despite us trying to  engage them in conversation and their 2 year old daughter was as outgoing and bubbly at MDU as she was running down the halls in the ward pushing a doll stroller with glee. A third family was friendly and offered to share some snacks. Such a different atmosphere than being admitted together. You'd think that staying in hospital would be more intimate and personal since we were all sleeping, eating and going down the hall in jammies to go to the bathroom alongside each other daily, but not so. 

Tuesday was our first day in 7 weeks where we did not have to go to CHEO. We played Nintendo Switch, snuggled and watched tv and opened a Christmas present at his request. Since we all need joy right now and we will likely be admitted to hospital again on Christmas Eve for 6 days to begin round 2 of chemo, we've decided he can open one whenever he wants to give him time to enjoy each one with time to play as opposed to rushing it all the day before and not getting to enjoy much. 

Ollie opening an indoor basketball set for the back of the door so we can get in some more active play even when indoors a lot.

So getting back to Homecare and his PICC line...we got a call from the homecare nurse asking if the Medical supplies had arrived (they hadn't) and promising to go out of her way to go back to the office and get some so that we wouldn't have to wait until evening to do this. Naturally 20 minutes later the supplies arrived by courier!

The nurse was a super sweet young woman and asked many questions top know more about Ollie' s condition and how we discovered it. She was super kind and listened intently, later telling me she often had elderly palliative patients who find themselves with cancer at the end of their lives and naturally they have a hard time seeing the importance of positivity at that stage. She asked if she can follow our blog, so she may be reading this now! 😀  She said if I wanted she'd have me do the line today and talk me through it. 

I will preface all of the next bit by saying that I have many nurses and people who are involved in caring.for others as a career in my family. My aunt was a nurse and the first person in our family to go to college or university. She always encouraged me to take my education seriously and suggested nursing or medicine as a career, but I didn't think I had what it takes to be around people who were suffering everyday. Her daughter is also a nurse, as is my dad's cousin to whom I am close. My mom has cousin's who are nurses, too. My grandmother worked for many years in an institution for adults who had physical and mental challenges (back in the day when the philosophy was to institutionalize them and not to have them integrated into everyday life with everyone else). My mother and two other aunts work with special needs and elderly people as personal support workers part-time to this day. Needless to say I come from a long line of women who have dedicated themselves to caring for the sick and those who require extra assistance. I guess that is where my capacity to do this comes from. Maybe we have a special gene...

Anyways, the Homecare nurse walked me through everything. It helped that I had already seen this done in hospital 12 other times. Ollie hardly complained, although he did tell me I didn't do it as well as the other nurses (LOL). It was surprisingly simple and I felt more in control at being able to do this because the day before I had been stressed as we waited to see if we'd have to go to CHEO to do it and when there waited for hours to get it done. So for the rest of the week a nurse will cine and walk me through it each day and hopefully by next week I will be slow to do it myself giving us a bit more control and more flexibility while at home. My gratitude to the very positive and patient Homecare nurse who helped to make our day easier. Nurses are angels in disguise.

Yesterday Abby also had a new experience attending WE Day. WE Day is a celebration of young people and educators who are making a difference in the world. It includes famous speakers, music groups and real life local testimonials from adults and youth who are volunteering their talents to make things better. Abby like her mama and papa loves to volunteer and help and is incredibly socially conscious for one so young.

Dear friends had special VIP tickets from the sponsor and asked if she could go. Abby is a member of the Social Justice League at school and had joined this year in part hoping to go, but it turned out this was the year her school didn't go, so this was really special that she'd get to go after all. 

Dear friend Francesca and Abby so excited to be at WE Day.

These girls had also spearheaded the campaign to raise funds to buy Ollie's Nintendo Switch and are always part of a very active group of friends who participate in the Lemonade Stand for Cancer, Jump Rope for Heart, Terry Fox Run and many other local initiatives. To say that I am proud of the young women they are all becoming is an understatement.

So Abby came home filled with excitement and energy raving about her day and what incredible people there are in the world. Exactly what I have been trying to show her throughout this journey we are on with her brother, so fantastic timing. 

Finally, we ended our day at church where reconciliation (confession) was happening for the first time for the grade 2's preparing to do their first communion in the spring and for the seasoned grade 6's preparing for confirmation in February. It was a bit bitter sweet to be there as I have been helping our amazing youth minister to prepare these kids for their sacraments and Ollie was supposed to be doing his first reconciliation and communion this year. Nevertheless, the mini-mass was good for the soul as always and after, so many lovely members of our school and church communities came over to hug me, tell me they are praying for us and to ask how Ollie is doing. Perhaps the hardest part was the little ones coming over and asking where he was and having to remind them that he is sick, but is doing well and missing them. One of his dearest little friends came over and gave me the biggest hug and asked me to give it to Ollie and it was all I could do to hold it together for her. What special people we all have in our lives to love us so much.

I'll be home for Christmas (or at least when it looks like Christmas)!

It's been an eventful 24 hours.  We had been told on Saturday that MAYBE we could go home on Sunday (today) instead of Monday as we expected. Naturally after that Ollie was adamant that he was going home Sunday. We suggested a "have no expectations, but hope for the best" attitude, but pretty hard to make that work when you're 7 and desperately just want to go home. So Ollie and I decided to let go and let God and said a prayer asking that God help us to get home the next day if He could. 

Abby had a birthday party to attend Saturday afternoon, so I spent a few hours alone running errands and just being normal while Mario built Lego at the hospital with Ollie.

Being alone now is weird. Weird like when they were babies and I'd be out without them, a bit gleeful to just be me and at the same time feeling like I was missing my heart. At one point I just got a coffee and sat in my car alone thinking about the craziness of the last 2 months. You don't get a lot of time to process all of this when you're in it, and when you do have a few moments you're not sure you want to process it for fear that your positive attitude and determination to go forward will leave you and be hard to recover. Thankfully I had had a weepy day in hospital two days before when Ollie was nauseous and slept a lot, so much of what I was feeling bad about had been let go already. Crying is therapeutic and the kids and I are alike that way in that we need to let it out to feel better. 

So in this moment as I thought about what we had been dealt, for a few moments I let myself feel anger. It made me wish I had enjoyed that one kickboxing class a friend dragged me to years ago so I could kick the crap out of something. Fortunately for me anger is always fleeting and perspective comes easily. Yes, my son has lymphoma, but it is highly treatable, we have almost made it through round 1, the chemo has been blasting his bump to smithereens as Ollie likes to say and we are surrounded with love. Anger is an emotion best acknowledged and moved on from in my humble opinion.

Abby preferred to be home with me Saturday night, so we put on Christmas pajamas, watched chick flicks and wrapped most of the Christmas presents that I had thankfully bought for my little family many weeks before diagnosis. Again, so grateful that I am a planner and my mom taught me to shop early!

Ollie has a lot of anxiety around swallowing meds because he hates the taste and sometimes his gag reflex makes him throw up, but as I mentioned in an earlier post, Mommy is also coach now, so I had promised to be back at the hospital by 9 am to help control his stress and to help him be successful. When I got to the hospital it was confirmed that we were going home, we just had to get discharge papers, meds and final instructions. So Mario and I stayed with Ollie who had little patience and must have asked a thousand times when the papers would be ready. 

Thankfully Aunt Jenna, Uncle Vic and Mackenzie (from our chosen family here since we've always lived far away from actual blood family) had agreed to come and be with Abby to help decorate the house for Christmas since we normally do that the first weekend in December, but had already started chemo. Total troopers they climbed into the attic, dragged Christmas down and set it up beautifully. 

We finally got our walking papers, Ollie was disconnected from his IV and literally danced around in joy. "I'M FREE!!!" he sang and went to the bathroom without his IV pole for the first time in 11 days. It's the little things you miss. ;-)

After getting his meds (he has to take an antibiotic, an anti-nauseant as well as something to keep his bowel regular), we were homeward bound. 

His excitement was lovely and so needed after 11 challenging days. He identified landmarks all along to exclaim how close we were getting. Finally we were on our street and he was ready to jump out of the car before we even stopped. Aunt Jenna was out front creating Christmas. What a beautiful sight!

He ran into the house and grabbed his sister in the biggest hug I think he's ever given her. Christmas was everywhere and everything was finally right in his world. 

If that wasn't exciting enough, his sister had a special surprise for his homecoming. She and her classmates and friends had worked together to raise over $500 amongst themselves to buy Ollie a Nintendo Switch! And the dad if one of her dearest friends whom we are so grateful to call friend even went and bought the Switch for us to ensure it was there for Ollie' s homecoming.

Ollie was beyond excited and what an extraordinary reward for getting through the last 11 days of chemo and frankly, a long two months of stress and trauma. Abby and her friends were so proud to do this and we are grateful to all of their parents who contributed or as we understand it paid them extra for doing chores to raise the money. It was against my instinct to allow this at first as I didn't want it to be misconstrued as us asking for a gaming console for our kids because he has cancer, but am grateful that several of the kids parents asked me to let them do it because it meant so much to their kids to do something. I am absolutely certain that these kids are going to do great things in the world going forward because their kindness and empathy are off the charts.

We also had a few other drop ins from special friends and neighbours who wanted to bring us some festive spirit and to welcome us home. The hugs they bring are the best and we are so glad they understand how great our kid is, too!

Ollie is now tucked asleep in bed at home, exhausted, full of his favourite foods, a lot happier and infinitely grateful for all that is good in his life despite his challenge. My heart is overflowing. Love to you all! 

Special, but normal

We had a visit from dear friends Julie and Rob who have been down this road with her mother and knew exactly how to make us feel special but still treated us normal just as they did before cancer.

Yesterday was much the same as the day before. Ollie woke not feeling great, so they have him Gravol and he slept all morning and through until 2 pm. Thankfully when he woke he was feeling way better and had more energy again. He was predictably happy that he had managed to avoid having a school lesson for the day. LOL

At CHEO they have a role called Child Life Specialist. I think I've mentioned them before. They're whole job is to make things easier and to make CHEO more palatable for kids and by extension their families. We have become familiar with a great one on Oncology in the Medical Day Unit, but each ward has their own as well and they work as an amazing team.

This is the decorated door of the Child Life office where they have made themselves elves and I've got to say this Christmas it feels like they are helping Santa to make all of our wishes come true. They work really hard too make kids feel special, but normal.

So Maryse on 4 North has been helping Ollie to learn how to swallow pills using candy, has brought Play Station 4 to his room on days he can't get out because of chemo, and helped him to use a hospital sheet to make a hockey surface and found nets and sticks to play on. Yesterday she also let him make his own patient because earlier in the week he says he wished he could make someone else take medicines and have pokes like him.

Meet Jake the patient. He's sad because he is scared of needles and got a poke today that Dr. Ollie had to give him. 

While letting him give a needle to the patient (carefully!), they talked about strategies that Jake (and Ollie) could use to manage the stress and pain. Monday Jake will also get a PICC line like Ollie's where he'll get his chemo and blood taken. He might even get lumbar and bone marrow punctures. Poor, brave Jake.

Another Child Life team member whom we had never met and works on the weekends arrived in Ollie's room this morning and introduced herself as Lisa. She also told me that we have mutual friends in common and when I asked who she told me she is good friends with Ken who is my friend Norm's husband. She then gave us a card from them with a beautiful message. Norm and Ken has been reading this blog and found out that Gabriel's pizza is Ollie's favourite so generously sent him a gift card to have a pizza party on them. Ollie was excited and it was perfect timing as he'd been feeling sad. Mario was overwhelmed when I told him later and is constantly surprised by people's kindness. I am delighted by the surprises, but not at all shocked as we are so very blessed to have great people like Norm and Ken in our large and comforting circle of community. 

I tell you this specific story only because it relates to how Child Life bends over backwards to make things better for us including an unusual and very personal delivery. There are still many more friends and family who have sent packages to make us smile, and keep us fed, warm and comfortable in the knowledge that we are loved and supported. Thank you all for your many gestures of kindness. Each and every one is loved and appreciated.

We heard yesterday that we may very well be in hospital for round 2 of chemo beginning on December 24. Maryse was quick to tell us that as much as they know everyone would rather be home for Christmas, they try to make it special with a visit from Santa and special activities all day. She even told us she's working because it is the best day of the year to work at CHEO. Our ending Oncology Coordinator said they may be able too push the date a few days, so as long as it doesn't jeopardize his health, we're still hoping for that, but beautiful to know that Christmas will go on no matter where we are.

Anywhere we are together can be normal and so can Christmas if need be. These two are all that matter and all I want for Christmas is for us too be together and for our boy to be well. 

Even bad days can be blessings...

This guy didn't feel great today and spent a lot of time in bed. The smell of the meds were making him nauseous, so he chose to wear a mask.

Yesterday was good. Ollie was full of energy, played hockey, had a good first lesson with his new teacher, and an online video chat with his class at St. G.

Playing hockey with Dr. Chancy

First lesson with Reg with some reading and math. Only 40 minutes a day to keep up with his class.

Mario came at dinner and stayed the night with Ollie while I went home to be with Abby. It's hard being away from Ollie because as much as I know he's in good hands, I feel like I did when he was breastfeeding and I needed to be close in case he needed me. Neither of my babies were good bottle takers, so I was rarely away from them for more than a few hours when they were infants. 

Being home with Abby was a joy, although tough too because I had to get things ready to go back, so my time with her is never without some obligation. Ironically my time at the hospital is more focused because I don't have to plan beyond the next hour, don't need to worry about laundry, or emptying the dishwasher or any other thing than getting my son well. So Abby helped me do laundry and empty the dishwasher and we snuggled and watched tv together. So many of you have reached out to spend time with her, take her to special events, sent her special gifts and shown her extra love and I am so very grateful for your help in mothering her through this.

Coming back to the hospital was difficult because I want to be with my boy, but hate leaving her and Mario and I are like two ships passing. Several of you have kindly offered to be with the kids to give us a break, but when you're in this, especially at the beginning of chemo you need to be with them. Mario and I have always been united in our belief that we can make time for us, even with the kids around. Thankfully we had a good date night out without them the weekend before Ollie's diagnosis was confirmed. 

Today was harder. Ollie was tired and listless all morning and didn't want to leave his room. He had his second lesson, but was tired. He started feeling nauseous around lunch so they have him Gravol and he slept all afternoon. Watching him I felt like this is what I expected the last 7 days to be like and maybe his real chemo has begun...his doctors and social worker say it's possibly just a bad day and not to worry about it. By dinner he was begging me to order him Gabriel's pizza (how could I not?!), ate 2.5 pieces and made a new friend.

I had noticed a boy closer to Ollie' s age on the floor earlier and suggested to Ollie maybe he'd like to play hockey. We found him, he's 9 and was glad to play. He has leukemia and has been on his journey for 18 months so far with about the same amount of time to go. He talked candidly to Ollie about losing his hair, how it grew back, how he'd now had 3 infections and had to come back for a few days (exactly why they're not allowed to go to school or be around a lot of little friends during chemo) each time, how he was glad he could finally go back to school and hockey this year and how you get used to all of it in no time. I was so grateful for young N' s help today in normalizing things for Ollie. They could relate to each other and Ollie could understand that he'll get through this and his 8 months by comparison, is so short. 

So we have an aggressive form of lymphoma that responds super well and fast to treatment (the bump is already so much smaller) and has a high success rate. In a crazy way we were also blessed in the type of cancer that he got. We won the cancer lottery! 😜  Sorry...bad dark cancer humour...

We also had a special unexpected visit from extended family tonight that meant the world to me, too and lifted our spirits. So the day that started bad ended way better than expected. 

Coaching, Managing Change and Making Plans

Ollie was the man with a plan this morning...

This morning as soon as he woke, Ollie asked to make a plan for today including things we HAD to do and fun things we COULD do after we finished the stuff we had to do. It's the first time in three weeks away from school that he's wanted to write anything or take control over what is happening to him. 

We have spent the last six weeks in and out of CHEO for so many tests to confirm Ollie's diagnosis. Every first has been hard and would have been for most adults never mind an anxious child who feels he has no control over his body at the moment. We've heard a lot of "I can't" and each time have coached him through it and tried to get him to understand how powerful his mind and attitude really are in all of this. 

Most kids hate change...it's why we as parents and teachers use routine and predictable patterns which are essential to keeping kids calm and well-adjusted. Yes, kids are adaptable, but they need time and coaching to be aware of, prepare for and work through major changes to avoid major melt-downs and stress. 

Every report card Ollie has gotten to-date says that he has difficulty with transitions. Abby was similar when younger and has learned to manage her stress related to change by planning and making lists to prepare. They're definitely my kids that way, although in his own way Mario always has a plan too. Given a tragedy he experienced in his family as a child, his unwritten mental plan is always to know exactly where all exits and potential threats are from the start of any journey or event to be ready to escape as needed. So it seems only fitting that our kids need, at the very least, informal transition plans to adapt well. 

Sadly, you cannot really plan for what we are going through. Yes, you can find ways to mitigate the risk if it happens (like banking cord blood and buying critical illness insurance for the kids which we are so grateful we did...can you tell I have training in risk management, too?!), but when you're leading up to diagnosis and starting treatment so rapidly, there is no time to transition. You're just in it. One minute you're undergoing tests and taking medicines because they think it is a relative of TB and the next morning it is lymphoma and your whole life changes in an instant.

This is where my training and certification in coaching and change management have helped. Mario and I immediately began to be coached by the oncology team and in turn became coaches to both of our kids and each other, working together to get us all successfully to the finish line in 6-8 months. Unfortunately though, there is no time to train for this event, you're just using everything you've got daily to stay ahead. I've never been a distance runner, but after all of this is over I might take it up. 

Change management guides how we prepare, equip and support people to adopt change. In my job I am always thinking about how changes to our programs and tools will affect our clients. Every day of the last six weeks has been about managing change for Ollie and our family. How can we prepare Ollie, Abby and ourselves for the next test, next step? What do we need to do to equip ourselves to get through this not only whole, but stronger? How can we support Ollie through the fear and pain of this journey while ensuring Abby is still able to have as normal a graduation year as possible and Mario and I take care of each other while getting them through this? Positivity, lots of hugs, unfailing faith and backbone are the answer for us. 

Despite my discomfort with the idea of us being perceived as asking for donations to buy Ollie a Nintendo Switch when his sister and friends begged to be able to fundraise for it, after talking to the wonderful parents of her friends, I adapted and let them do it. It was their way of supporting him in the change. We've also included Abby in every discussion about his health and what comes next so she understands and doesn't feel we're hiding anything scary from her. 

Same with Ollie...I promised not to talk behind his back about his body and his lymphoma and to make sure he could understand everything that will happen to him. So every day we share with Ollie what is coming next, we share stories of perseverance and tell him how much he impresses us every day with his bravery. We remind him that he can get the medicine down because he's already done it 11 times successfully in five days in hospital and can do it a twelfth time. 

We celebrate when he can swallow sprinkles and Nerds candy whole like pills as we work up to learning how to swallow real pills and capsules. This will make it easier for him to take them when we get home, to avoid his gag reflex brought on by tastes of the liquid meds and next time in hospital he'll be able to take them for his steroids instead of constantly being hooked up to an IV. 

 Ollie working up to swallowing pills and capsules...

And today he took charge of his own schedule and changes and made a plan. Progress.

Rock'em Sock'em and the Grinch

Tic Tac Toe, Checkers, Connect Four all help to pass the time and keep his mind sharp.

You'd think that days in the hospital would be long, but the time passes quickly. There are many medical teams and CHEO staff visiting us each day. For example, our dedicated Oncology Coordinator, Virginia came by today to see how we were doing and talk about what else we might need. Our Social Worker pops in every few days to make sure we're adjusting well. The Child Life Specialist is teaching Ollie how to take pills so in future we can avoid his medicine taste aversions and help him to minimize how often he'll have to drag his IV around when in hospital for the first six days in each of the 5 subsequent chemo rounds. The Palliative care team (pain management, not end of life!) checks in to make sure he is not in pain. And he has a physician from Hematology/Oncology who checks on him daily to make sure all is well. Today he checked in multiple times to ensure bowel movements were happening and to challenge Ollie to Rock'em Sock'em matches, trying in vain to beat the brave little champ. Don't tell him we told you though, as he swore Ollie to secrecy so his team doesn't shame him!

Ollie dominating at Rock'em Sock'em against Dr. Chancy.

We also had a lovely visit from St. G friend Jamie who works at CHEO and whose son Gabriel has been in Abby's class since kinder. It has surprised me how many people I actually know who work here. 

Our financial advisor/insurance broker and friend, Sean also kindly stopped by to help with and pick up insurance forms and to bring Ollie a special present. We are so very thankful for the great advice that he's always given our family and now more than ever it will help us to weather the unexpected financially. 

Mario and Abby came bringing another delicious dinner generously made with love by a St. G family. Being together for a simple meal is never something we've taken for granted, as like my grandmother always insisted upon, dinner in our family is the one time of day we are all together, talking about how the day went, how we are feeling and what is planned for the next day. I am so very glad to have this ritual right now and eating together continues to connect us even when we are apart most of the time right now.

Abby sweetly brought a Grinch Christmas cookie kit to decorate with Ollie before dinner tonight.

Tomorrow I'll share more about Ollie's state of mind and how I'm using my coaching and change management training to help him. 

Thanks for all of your kind words about the blog. It is therapeutic and an important record of a life changing time for us and we appreciate you being on this journey with us, whether near or far. Big hugs to all! 

Ollie's impressive Grinch cookie.

"HELP ME! I'M FEELING!!!"

- Grinch in The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

Family, Food and Fantastic Beasts

 Ollie and Mommy snuggling...

Saturday was tougher than we expected because Ollie had extra meds that he was supposed to take orally and hated the taste, so his gag reflux kept kicking in and he threw up multiple times. His nurse, Nelson was awesome and kept trying to find creative new ways to help him get them down. 

Mario and Abby came to visit and we spent some time in the Sens Den together having dinner and watching a movie. Then Daddy stayed with him so Mommy could have time with Abby. Ollie cried when we left, desperately wanting to go home and I hugged him as he cried in real sadness for the first time on this journey. So hard, but Daddy soon teased him into a better mood and gave him snuggles. 

Chilling out in the Sens Den watching a movie.

Abby and I went to Indigo and shopped a little, but mostly thought of Ollie and ended up buying only things to make him happy. We got a Starbucks drink and headed home to snuggle, watch tv and do facial masks together. 

Today we had many things to do including shipping some Christmas packages with presents previously bought, buying jeans for Abby who seems to have had a growth spurt during all of this and picking up Abuelita (Mario's mom) to go for a visit to the hospital.

Daddy and Abby

We also had extended family Kevin (Mario's Little Brother from our days volunteering at Big Brothers Big Sisters Ottawa) and his mom, Barbara come to visit. Ollie was happy and his usual energetic and silly self. They almost couldn't believe he has cancer. 

Barbara, Kevin and Ollie

We had brought leftovers from meals that were kindly brought to the house for us over the last few days and were happy to share it with this great little group of family. We are so grateful for the many amazing people who are feeding us and it's clear they're trying to keep us all pleasantly plump based on how much food keeps coming. Ollie was thrilled with the gathering and it felt more normal than having another meal in his hospital room. We also decorated his room a bit for Christmas (although we expect to be home December 10) and started his Advent calendar.

 Abby's decorating...

It has become obvious that striking the right balance between our children's needs is going to be challenging over the coming months. Both need each of us to comfort and reassure them that everything will be okay. Ollie clearly loves his daddy, but missed me last night because today he just kept asking for hugs, wanting to sit or snuggle with me and thanking me for all I am doing for him while apologizing if he's been mean to me lately. Just an example of the sensitive and sweet boy that we have been blessed with. I pray that this experience makes him grateful for the kindness of others and for all of the good that he will have in his life after all of this. We're talking a lot about how powerful our minds and positive thinking are and their importance to us being successful in kicking lymphoma out and he seems to finally be coming around to this idea.