Things to pack/take for hospital stays

I get asked a lot by new cancer families what they should pack/take to hospital for admissions so am sharing this suggested list. Some I've added to the bottom specifically for stem cell/bone marrow transplant (especially if you have to move far away from home for it and can drive there).

We had 3 bags that we always had at the ready:

1. Hospital Daypack - A backpack ready to grab at the door in case of emergency where we had to go to the hospital right away and for use during hospital outpatient visits. Our visits were often full day affairs and emergency visits often ended up meaning being admitted, so we always needed to have these at the ready for the patient. In this bag at a minimum we had:

- Favourite stuffie

- Change of clothes (that could also be pajamas so usually pajamas or sweatpants, t-shirt, sticks and change of underwear)

- 1-3 days dose of current meds and a bottle of Children's Tylenol in his preferred flavour (we have one med obtained under compassionate grounds that the hospital couldn't get, so always had to have some in case, the rest can generally be obtained at hospital, but never underestimate a last minute need for Atavan for anxiety, Ondansatron for nausea or even Morphine for pain and how long it might take for them to get a doctor to give these orders in hospital while you wait to be admitted or are having outpatient procedures)

 - Blanket (we bought one that is fleece and folds into itself to make a pillow which is great to leave in the hospital daypack for unexpected Emergency Department visits, scans, clinic days, etc.)

- Toys and distractions (Fidget toys; dice and a hospital kidney dish to play games; deck of cards/uno game; new container of playdoh or putty; pop it game; mini Bop It; Lego Minifigure blind bags; Tablet or old phone with charger to watch videos on with hospital Wifi, download audible books on, earphones, etc.)

- Hand sanitizer, extra masks, sanitizing wipes, large ziploc bags for soiled clothes, etc.

- Tegaderm dressings/tape to reinforce around edges of central line dressing if it started to peel off, etc. and a pair of medical scissors (they'll give you a pair and tape at hospital if you ask)

- Emla patches to numb injection site (or port if you have one) - easier for day trips than the cream

- Mio Water Flavouring (to put in the contrast that they have to drink for PET Scans - usually at the children's hospital for CTs they have various flavours, but at the adult hospital for PET Scans they only ever has pomegranate and it once made Ollie throw up. Ollie always preferred Strawberry Watermelon or Orange so we learned to take our own.)

- Refillable water bottle

- A few snacks and treats (granola bars, container of Shreddies or Cheerios, lollipops or ring pops as rewards or to help the meds go down, etc.) for child and parent as the ways are often long and not an Emergency Departments have vending machines or allow food to be ordered from food services while you wait for hours.

- Small incentive prize for doing hard things like being brave for pokes and scans (Ollie always wanted Beyblades, but pick your child's fave small toy)

- Vaseline (good for dry lips, sore bums, etc. but always use a clean medical glove so as not to contaminate. Hospital will generally give you an new travel size if needed.)

- Small hand sanitizer and extra medical masks (you'd be surprised at how often dispensers are empty at hospital)

- Blue throw up bags (ring on top to hold open like a bucket, but compact and disposable. We kept them handy in the cars, too)

- Extra PICC line cover (made of stretchy fabric or in a pinch cut the foot off a sock that the snug but not right on their arm over the central line)

[Photo description: Ollie sleeps in an exam room at the CHEO hospital under his folding fleece blanket while listening to his tablet and getting an infusion of IViG to boost his antibodies.]

2. Hospital Overnight Bag - for short stays of 1-4 days - always packed and preferably left in the trunk of the car, it generally included:

- Pajamas for the patient and caregiver

- Change of clothes for the patient and caregiver

- Slippers for patient and caregiver

- Toiletries for patient and caregiver for at least an overnight stay, but 2-3 days if you don't have a co-worker parent or co-caregiver who can bring up what you need if admitted for an infection for 3-4 days)

- A few snacks and bottles of water (late night emergency room visits = nothing open if your kid is starving)

- Note that I would usually either also have his daypack noted above with me or transfer the most important things from it (e.g. Stuffie, tablet, meds) into the overnight bag.

- Eye mask

[Photo description: Ollie sleeps in an Emergency Department exam room at the Hospital for Sick Kids in Toronto. We haven't bought the folding blanket/pillow yet and there was no pillow in this room so we had to fold up my coat for his head! Our overnight bag is sitting in a nearby chair. We waited that night for 10 hours for a hospital bed to become advisable to be admitted and no food could be ordered there, and I could not leave him to get food. Thank goodness I brought drinks and snacks!]

3. Hospital Food and Supplies Bag - for our planned admissions for chemo and transplant - this one was a big canvas bag from Land's End (see photo below) and in it we would have:

- Cozy blankets for the patient and caregiver for sleeping (hospital supplies, but nothing like comfort from home)

- Magic Bag (put in freezer or microwave to help with pain or discomfort)

- Meds for patient and caregiver (note that often meds for kids are in tablet form and hard for them to swallow at first until they learn, so worth considering getting your own supply of kid friendly versions. For example, Ollie took Melatonin, but the hospital certain was a mint flavoured tablet that he hated so we bought and took Berry gummies instead. Also, they had liquid Tylenol, but usually only grape flavour and Ollie only ever liked strawberry-banana so we always had at least two on hand)

- Emla patches or cream our Maxilene cream to numb injection site (or port if you have one) and Saran Wrap to hold cream in place  - apply 30 minutes before poke

- Snacks and drinks for the patient and caregiver (Juice boxes, Campbell's Soup At Hand, Lipton Cup of Soup, Soda Crackers, Granola bars, chocolate, anything individually packaged that didn't need refrigeration, cereal, etc. The hospital generally has a parent kitchen on each ward with fridge, microwave, kettle and often a Keurig machine. Some hospitals have mini-fridges in the inpatient rooms as well.)

- Keurig Coffee Pods, sugar, coffee whitener, stir sticks and/or milk or cream. Also a travel mug or two or disposable coffee cups and lids (dollar store).

- Swiss army/pocket knife (so many times you need scissors, a nail file, a knife, a can opener, etc. and they're hard to find in hospital!)

- Salt and Pepper (they always forget the salt with the meal tray and cancer patients crave salty! We bought a set of salt and pepper at the dollar store and left in hospital bag)

- Foods to help get oral medicines down (chocolate pudding cups; squeezee applesauce packages or other fruit flavours; if we knew we were being admitted and had a fridge in the room or access to the family kitchen with a fridge, yoghurt tubes; Lollipops or ring pops to help with the yucky aftertaste of drinking contrast for scans, etc.)

- Flushable wipes (for the countless times the patient will have diarrhea and may even use a bed pan or commode. The hospital will give you dry wipes that you can wet, but not convenient and not very soft on skin that can feel burned after days of diarrhea)

- Baby wipes - for hands, quick cleanups, etc.

- Small supply of napkins, disposable plates, cuts, utensils, ketchup packets (most hospitals have these in the family kitchens, but sometimes you can't or don't want to leave the room to get one)

- Plastic hangers (2-4) - hospital rooms often have closet cupboards, but rarely hangers, little space for storage and if it is jacket weather you need to put them somewhere! We learned to take some with us and bring them home are each time.

- PICC line rubber/waterproof cover for bathing (can usually buy online or at hospital pharmacy) or Glad Press and Seal to keep vegan line dry while bathing.

- Hand cream - all that hand washing and sanitizing makes for dry and cracked skin which can then bring infection into the hospital.

[Photo description: An extra large canvas bag with "Ollie" embroidered on the side that held all of our hospital admission foods and supplies.]

In addition for longer admissions we also packed:

4. Planned Longer Admission Suitcase - same as #2 above with enough clothes for the entire planned stay or at least half and arrange for a spouse, parent, friend to deliver a second set half way through the stay and take the dirty ones to wash. 

5. For Stem Cell Transplant and/or moving far away to do it/living in hospital for long periods):

- Mattress topper/camping mat or sleeping bag for the sleeper chairs that are notoriously uncomfortable (absolutely the case at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto in the BMT unit) and something to wrap it up in during the day (I had a luggage strap and an extra large garbage bag and sick it behind the chair during the day)

- Clean or brand new indoor shoes or slippers for the room for the caregiver(s). Leave outside dirty ones in clean room or bagged up in the isolation room.

- A bunch of new/unopened fidget toys, activities, small Lego sets, books, mini Bop It, Bubble pop, travel games, etc. Must be something you can fully sanitize taking in or brand new (outside package wiped with Lysol wipes before you take them in) to avoid bacteria and germs.

- Things to decorate room - we took posters, pictures and cards from friends wishing Ollie well. An inspirational photo or poster also works. You're in that room 24/7 for weeks (maybe months) and want to be comforted/inspired to keep going.

- Box of kitchen garbage bags to double bag things you're bringing in from outside. Remove outside bag and discard before bringing into isolation room. Also good for hauling dirty clothes out for washing. 

- 2 or more identical stuffed animals (whatever is you child's fave) - trade out daily for a new clean one if possible to avoid bacteria. Also kids drop them in the floor and sometimes throw up on them.

- 4-6 Shoe box or slightly bigger size clear plastic containers (dollar store) labeled with your family name to store food items in kitchen cupboards, communal family kitchen fridge or in your room. 

- Small single use boxes of laundry detergent or laundry soap pods - sometimes you have to pop up to the Ronald McDonald House room to do a load of laundry and there isn't always staff to sell you soap! 

Generally we have over-planned, as we have learned how difficult it can be to source things while in hospital (especially during COVID when often visitors are not able to bring what you need). I also wrote an earlier blog post about things to buy for cancer patients that can give you ideas about what we needed.

The Epic Masked Stem Cell Crusade - 2 Years Later

[Photo description: Ollie is on ice skates again for the first time since going blind in January 2020. He is wearing a hockey helmet with face mask and holding his white mobility cane with a Dakota tip on it.]

Almost two months have flown by since we last posted an update! And it seems fitting to post today on the two year anniversary of the day that we left for Toronto to start Ollie's stem cell journey that would begin really well (despite the pandemic's arrival at the same time) with Abby's donation on March 31st, take us on an unexpected detour just days later when he relapsed a second time and would eventually need brain and spine radiation and a brand new drug untested in children obtained under compassionate grounds when the first and approved "miracle drug" didn't work for him, and eventually lead us back to a successful transplant in July 2020 and an incredibly smooth recovery to-date. 

In fact today Ollie is +610 days since transplant and the stress of just trying to get him through all of this and past the first critical 100 days after transplant seems decades ago to my brain and yet like yesterday in my heart. Especially this week as we heard that another CHEO and Sick Kids transplant family lost their brave warrior after 10 years of battling and over a year of post transplant complications that his poor little body just couldn't overcome. Another child taken unfairly and too soon, and a poignant reminder of how blessed we have been. All of our sacrifices have been worth it to keep him and some sacrifice so much more and still don't get to keep their babies. Please pray for the family of Mackenzy who have sacrificed SO much, but are so grateful to have had the past 10 years with their angel before letting the Creator take him to paradise.

It also reinforces why we are continuing to be diligent and masking (at least for a while) even after the mask mandate was dropped in Ontario this week. We continue to evaluate our risks, mitigate them where we can, sacrifice where needed. I just can't remove all protections and hope for the best yet with all that we have experienced and seen. Despite all of this we still live full lives of joy and gratitude because we understand too well how close we've come to the complete devastation of losing our child. There but for the grace of God go I.

[Photo description: On the left is Ollie's now well-loved official hockey puck from the Canadian Blind Hockey Association, which is about 3 times the size of a normal puck, is made of metal and has metal balls that rattle. On the right is a normal sized puck for perspective.]

These past two months since we last updated have been healthy and filled with busy activities like ice skating, playing hockey, and trying cross-country skiing with Ollie's class to name but a few! The kids have been blessed to attend a school in an urban area with a huge green space nearby so that they get to enjoy it at school often. From skating at nearby Champlain Park to cross-country skiing on the nearby KichiSibi Trail, Ollie's teachers have taken full advantage of the beautiful winter and gotten them out regularly to enjoy it. 

[Photo description: Ollie plays hockey with school friends at Champlain Park during outdoor gym class. Since Ollie is still learning to skate again since going blind, he opted to wear ice picks on his boots to enable him to keep up with class mates as they played.]

Given I have been in my last months off on leave, I took the time to go and help with Ollie so that he could experience it all safely and I could learn how to better support him to do it all with his peers. I remain grateful to his teachers and educational assistants who always help us to find a way to ensure his safe inclusion in every activity. Having a bird's eye view on how he interacts with his peers and vice versa has also been tremendously comforting. I am so happy to report that his friends go out of their way to help him and include him in all things. The very first day he was on skates again, two of his closest buddies were never far from his side, encouraging him and praising him for how well he was doing, saying how much they knew it was so much harder now that he was blind and he was doing it anyways. I was in tears and sent messages of gratitude to each of the boys' parents to thank them for raising amazingly kind humans. 

[Photo description: Ollie learns to cross-country ski on the KichiSibi Trail with his class, while assisted by his Educational Assistant, Mrs. Taylor.]

I know from experience with Abby already that these years where he'll want me to come to field trips and special events with him are for a limited time only and will end too soon, so I am so grateful for this time with him. And for now as he gets used to doing everything blind and all of the firsts are happening, it comforts us both to do it together. 

Thankfully while we cautiously participated post-Omicron, Ollie was happy to continue wearing his mask even outdoors and we were able to do all of this with relatively low risk for Ollie. 

[Photo description: Abby gets her COVID-19 booster at the #Jabapalooza vaccine clinic for immuno-compromised families in early February 2022. Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth and her team has organized vacination clinics for the vulnerable across Ottawa since vaccines were first available and actually gave Abby her vaccine. It was an honour to meet her and Abby even allowed her to take and Tweet out this photo of her!]

Abby has been so much happier being back at school, although in the past two weeks as it was announced that vaccine mandates would be removed in schools, she was highly anxious about it. She wants to keep her brother safe, but also wants to be "normal" and doesn't want to be the only "alien" wearing one. Thankfully there were 14 kids in her class (of 28) today wearing them and ALL of her teachers did as well. We remain thankful for all of these people who are protecting themselves and others like Ollie. We totally get that others want to get back to "normal" and hope that someday soon that will really be possible for everyone and not just because our provincial premier is looking for votes in an election that will be called any day now.

[Photo description: Ollie does a snow angel in the park on a sunny day as friends hold a Childhood Cancer Awareness flag nearby.]

We've been pleased to support the 5th annual Snow Angels for CHEO (#sa4cheo) this year again (our second year involved) to raise needed funds for CHEO's Oncology clinic and ward. The money is still being tallied as the campaign is just ending now, but it looks like the best ever result so far with more than $12,000 raised (last year it raised $8,000)! 

[Photo description: CHEO Bear and Ollie dressed as Cookie Monster and wearing a mask on his face give thumbs up while CNIB Buddy Dog Hope in her CNIB yellow vest sits at their feet.]

Ollie even got to participate in an event where most of the volunteers and CHEO Families featured in this year's campaign got together at CHEO with CHEO Foundation staff to make snow angels. Even Buddy Dog Hope came along for the fun! 

[Photo description: Ollie does a snow angel in his Cookie Monster costume at CHEO.]

[Photo description: A peanut butter and banana sandwich with a dog biscuit sticking in the middle made by Ollie as Hope's birthday cake for her third birthday on February 28, 2022.]

In late February we celebrated Hope's third birthday and in early March we celebrated one year since her "Gotcha Day" when she came to us! She has been among our greatest blessings over the past year and the confidence she has helped to bring out in Ollie since then is evident everyday.

[Photo description: Hope lies on her bed with her new football chew toy from Ollie on her 3rd birthday, February 28, 2022. A birthday sign made by Ollie is stuck to the wall above her head.]

Hope will be donating blood again for the Canadian Animal Blood Bank on April 2nd at the CNIB Canine Centre. Her (and Ollie's) summer is also shaping up pretty great as she'll be at CNIB Lake Joe a couple of times with the whole family and with Ollie and all Ontario CNIB Buddy Dog duos! 

[Photo description: Ollie and friends sit in an arcade race car game at a recent birthday party.]

Ollie got invited to a dear friend's birthday party recently and had a blast at laser tag. Mom had to tag along to be his audio guide and eyes, but he had so much fun! After the party in the arcade (it was way quieter in there after the party as it was dinnertime for most so it had cleared out) his friends grabbed Ollie's arm and lead him around the games, explaining everything and helping him up into some of the games. I watched in awe as 9 and 10 year old boys took responsibility for his safety and helped him to just be one of the guys. 

[Photo description: Ollie and friends straddle a motorbike racing arcade game at a recent birthday party.]

As a parent of a special needs kid you fear so much that your child will be excluded or made to feel less somehow. Even though we have built him up over the past two years to feel that he is NOT broken and still a normal kid who just needs a little accommodation or modification to do the same things as the other kids, I've worried that this would not be enough and his tender heart would be hurt by those who don't understand. So grateful that my fears were for the most part unfounded and he and his friends have all adapted so well and normalized it all for themselves. Kids are incredible when we teach them to accept and adapt.

[Photo description: Ollie stands in the kitchen holding his last cane bought in August 2021 and his new cane that just arrived. The old cane was a custom red for Ironman and the new cane is a blue and red homage to Captain America. He has grown so much in the past 7 months that his new cane is 6" longer than his last!]

Ollie is growing rapidly both physically and intellectually. We just received his new cane. His old one was bought 7 months ago and was 44" and his new one is 50"! Some days I wonder if the radiation he's had from treatments have made him a mutant as his feet have also gotten huge and he is now wearing a MEN'S SIZE 9 shoe!!!

Intellectually he is doing fantastic at school and is completely caught up with his peers despite missing the better part of 2 years of full-time school. He also recently had a Braille reading assessment. At the beginning of the school year his Vision Itinerant did a benchmark assessment and found that he was reading Braille at about a grade 1 level. Not surprising as he'd been a late reader before cancer and had just finished grade 2 a bit behind the average in reading independently. Plus his spelling was behind from missing so much school over the past two years. The latest assessment showed that he is now reading Braille at a grade 4 level!!! So he's advanced 3 years worth of progress in 6 months. A powerful combination of determination and a great teacher have made all the difference and his dedicated vision itinerant teacher last year focusing on his Braille literacy so he'd know it inside and out this year gave him an incredible basis to quickly launch from this year!

[Photo description: Matt Bennett, Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships and Consumer Products for the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group that includes the Ottawa 67's and the Ottawa RedBlacks sits in the stands at a recent Ottawa 67's game to bring Ollie a new 67's jersey with his name on the back and his favourite number 7. Friends and our family look on.]

During March Break we were invited to attend an Ottawa 67's game and bring some friends. Matt Bennett had heard that the 67's jersey that they gave Ollie when he was relapsing in Toronto (when Ray Skaff from Gabriel Pizza brought us pizzas and presents like the jersey) was now way too small and he told me to bring Ollie and he'd have a new one ready for him! 

[Photo description: A bald and relapsing Ollie wearing his first Ottawa 67's jersey in April 2020 in Toronto on the left and Ollie today wearing his new 67's jersey and a Canadian Blood Services Hockey Gives Blood hat at the recent game on the right.]

 The 67's game was our first public event in 28 months since diagnosis and we figured we'd better get out before the mask mandate was dropped and so many would be out without them, putting Ollie at greater risk. 

[Photo description: Mario helps Ollie to put on his new 67's jersey. the back reads, "OLLIE" and has the number 7 on it, which is Ollie's favourite number and has actually been retired by the 67's in honour of two previous players.]

[Photo description: Ollie braces for his third COVID-19 vaccine at CHEO.]

Also during March Break, Ollie got his third COVID vaccine at CHEO. Because he's immuno-compromised, he needs three instead of two for the initial doses. Now we wait two weeks for it to be effective and pray that he has an antibody response similar to others with a healthy immune system as many with compromised immune systems have even less effectiveness. 

[Photo description: Ollie wears his One Year in Remission t-shirt at CHEO while holding his mobility cane and a stuffed dog that he got after his third COVID vaccine.]

We've also recently reduced his t-cell kinase inhibitor (TKI) drug Lorlatinib from 100 mg to 75 mg in hopes it will reduce the hunger, weight gain, and paranoia he's often experienced on it. Since stopping two weeks ago his appetite has gone down significantly, and he seems better able to cope with most of his anxiety. He has MRI Ave CT scans scheduled for April 13 as part of the twice annual scanning that we have put into his post-treatment plan/roadmap that Dr. Abbott and I have agreed to. Hopefully it will confirm that he remains in remission with no evidence of disease. The plan is still to take him off of the TKI in July after two years and that will also allow us to give him his final re-vaccines (he can't get the live ones - measles, mumps, rubella and varicella - until two years post transplant and he's off of the Lorlatinib). Then we'll know for sure if the transplant really was successful or if it was the Lorlatinib simply holding the lymphoma back. 

[Photo description: Ollie and Mario give thumbs up while Abby and Dawn stand beside them. All are wearing face masks and Medieval Times crowns.]

We also decided to go to Toronto for the last few days of March Break to "Take Back Toronto" so that the kids no longer associate it with illness and isolation after the 5 months we lived there during transplant. The kids were begging us to go somewhere and again, we knew it would be harder once the mask mandate was dropped. We deliberately chose a hotel far away from downtown in the north end of Toronto that was very quiet. 

It was a fast couple of days so we didn't really get to see more than one family of friends who supported us so much through cancer and moved to Toronto this school year. It was lovely to see them, though and as always they were super careful to keep us as safe as possible. We were so glad to see them and miss them a lot. 

[Photo description: Dawn and Abby about to eat dinner at Medieval Times are wearing crowns and Abby is hiding her face behind a light up unicorn sceptor.]

We did a bunch of shopping (Abby was SO happy) and had takeout from the few favourite restaurants only found in Toronto.

We went to one public event which was Medieval Times as we'd promised Ollie long ago before cancer and never made it there. We also figured big arena was better than small restaurant, picked a mid-afternoon seating to avoid big crowds, asked to sit in the accessibility section far away at the back to be away from most other people and wore our masks except while eating. The kids actually had a blast (even Ollie who didn't think he would and was initially bummed not to be able to see it) and we spent a small fortune on unicorn adaptors, light up swords, as well as wooden shields and swords. Considering how little these kids have been out in public the past two years and all of their entertainment has been online, this seemed a small price to pay to make the event as fun as possible! 

[Photo description: Ollie shows off his new Medieval Times Shield and sword in the hotel room in Toronto at the end of March Break 2022 while Mario photo bombs in the background with his tongue sticking out.]

And this week they were back to school after careful consideration given the removal of masking in Ontario schools and public places today. I did an interview with CBC Ottawa Morning today to talk about the unique position that immuno-compromised families like ours are in with this change. They also published a print article about it here. Tomorrow I'm doing another interview. Not trying to stop anyone from living their mask free life, simply raising awareness of what it's like for immuno-compromised families and why people need to be humane and kind and respect that not everyone is in a situation where they can simply get on with maskless life and accept the risk of COVID.

We will continue to wear our masks and mitigate our risks for the next few weeks as we wait for Ollie's third vaccine to become effective and to see what happens with COVID cases and the Ottawa Wastewater Meter to determine when it may be safe enough for our family to remove our masks, too. If cases rise suddenly like they did with the first Omicron variant (reports of hundreds of thousands of kids in England having the new variant and it multiplying three-fold in two weeks are just now coming out) we may be forced again to isolate, but we sincerely hope that this time the modelling gets it right and it will not be as bad as the first Omicron wave was.

[Photo description: Ollie kneels in the kitchen floor to give Hope a hug.]

In the meantime, please take care of yourselves, get boosted and get your kids their shots if they are eligible and not yet fully vaccinated. Ollie has now had 19 vaccines over the past year (3 COVID since December and 16 other childhood re-vaccines since February 2021). We can honestly tell you that science works and your children are more likely to avoid serious illness and death when vaccinated. I promise you that you never want to be in the position where you are sitting at your seriously ill child's bedside praying for their survival and wishing you'd done more to keep them well.

To those still masking to protect families like ours, I am as always so grateful for all that you do to help us keep our Ollie safe and well. To everyone, please be well and stay safe.

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!

All I Want for Christmas is a COVID-19 Vaccine and a Victrectomy...

[Photo description: Ollie sits in his seat in the van resting his hand on Hope beside him when being picked up from school. The red seatbelt cover has a Medic Alert symbol on it and inside contains details on Ollie' s medical conditions in case of an accident.]

It's hard to believe that we are now less than two weeks away until Christmas again! Getting everyone here into the Christmas spirit has been a bit of an uphill battle again this year, but we've slowly gotten there. 

[Photo description: Ollie sits on the sofa beside a sleeping Hope while playing with a tactile Mini Mini-Golf game on the ottoman in front of him. 

As usual, Ollie was most like me, so was actually interested in celebrating the holidays and helped me to drag Abby and Mario into the spirit. We decorated the last weekend in November - earlier than we ever have. Mario thought I was crazy, but went along with it and tried to get Abby into it. She was reluctant. Digging deeper by talking about things revealed that everyone is now reminded somewhat about Ollie being diagnosed this time of year and having those first rounds of chemo in the weeks before, during and after the holidays. No matter how far away we get from active treatment, there are constant reminders of what we went through in those early days. 

[Photo description: Ollie wears an elf hat and Hope wears reindeer antlers while a roaring fire appears on the TV screen behind them.]

We talked about reclaiming Christmas and trying to think more about how grateful we are that we're all together and he's well instead. It hasn't been easy and there have been arguments and tears to get past this PTSD, but we're getting there. Abby and Ollie are now getting excited that Christmas is almost here as evidenced by them trying to guess what their gifts under the tree are. 

[Photo description: Ollie adds coloured bulbs to the ceramic Christmas tree that was my grandmother's as we decorated for the holidays.]

When he has his moments, Ollie has this incredible way of being able to talk about how he feels when he's feeling big angry or sad feelings and then to just recover quickly after hugging it out and appreciating the good moments that follow. Hope helps him a lot with this process. He calls her especially when he is sad after his anger has dissipated and he needs to move from sadness to acceptance to readiness to be happy again. He just hugs her and within moments he feels ready to face whatever the world throws at him next. As his mama my level of gratitude and love for this gorgeous and sweet-natured canine (who honestly seems to think she's human) knows no bounds. She spends most of her days very close to me at home. Mario laughs that I was the one who didn't want a dog before Ollie went blind and she is now super attached to me and I to her. 

[Photo description: Ollie hugs Hope while sitting on the back of the CNIB Christmas Float before the Carleton Place Christmas Parade on November 27, 2021.]

So it was our great pleasure to be invited to participate in the Carleton Place Christmas Parade with the CNIB Guide Dogs Program and show our gratitude for being part of something so life changing for us all. Ollie was so excited to be part of it and showed incredible patience while waiting for the parade to begin. Hope was so well-behaved despite all of the distractions, especially with so many other dogs around. 

We met several other volunteers who boarded Hope during her time at the CNIB Canine Training Centre. They were all overjoyed to see her and commented on how wonderful she looked, how well-behaved she was, and how well Ollie was doing with her. They are all incredibly warm and kind people who open their hearts and homes to help train guide dogs for blind and low vision people. It's incredibly hard for them to love these dogs and then let them go, but they do it selflessly to make lives like Ollie's better.

[Photo description: The CNIB float for the Carleton Place Christmas Parade is covered in Christmas lights and featured a blow up Snoopy riding a scooter and a decorated Christmas tree pulled by a yellow, white and black CNIB Guide Dogs van. Dawn, Ollie (in orange coat) and Hope are sitting on the float with the program lead of the CNIB Buddy Dog/Ambassador Dog Program, Buddy Dog duo Connor and June with mom Julie and other CNIB volunteers. CNIB Dog Trainers and Guide Dogs in training walked behind the float. Photo courtesy of Allison Noseworthy Warren]

The parade was incredibly well attended with approximately 5,000 people lining the streets. On the one hand this made me grateful to be on the float safely isolated from the masses, but on the other I felt so grateful for this little bit of normal for everyone. Pretty exciting for a 9 year old to be in a parade and we hope to be invited to do it again in future!

[Photo description: Ollie is assisted by Mario and Skateboarding Instructor Jordan as he does his first blind standing ride down a half pipe at The Yard.]

I haven't written that separate blog post about Ollie skateboarding yet, but he's making great progress and it's fun to watch him do something he loves so much and I love the respect that other kids at the skate park show him when they realize he's doing it blind.

[Photo description: Ollie and his skateboarding instructor Jordan are interviewed by Denise Fung of CBC Radio at The Yard.]

 CBC Radio taped an interview at The Yard with him and Jordan yesterday, so listen this week for him on Ottawa Morning! 

[Photo description: Oliver was Day 10 of Make-A-Wish Eastern Ontario's 24 Days of Wishes revealed on CTV News Ottawa on December 10]

Last spring, Make-A-Wish Eastern Ontario asked if Ollie would be willing to be part of the 24 Days of Wishes. Each day in December leading up to Christmas, a Wish kid is featured on Ottawa's CTV News to encourage people to donate to help make Wishes come true for other critically ill children in 2022. 

[Photo description: Oliver was Day 10 of Make-A-Wish Eastern Ontario's 24 Days of Wishes revealed on CTV News Ottawa on December 10]

Ollie's Door Day was December 10th and you can watch the CTV News segment on him here. We remain so thankful for the Wish that he was granted in March 2021 to have an epic playroom and he has literally used it EVERY day since then. It really is the Wish that keeps on giving and he helped the sponsor of his Wish, eQ Homes to make a video to encourage others to help them to Wish It Forward to help another deserving kid in 2022. They just posted today that they met their $10,000 goal to make this happen, so we continue to be grateful to eQ Homes and their supporters who have helped to inspire kids like Ollie with critical illnesses to keep going through all of the hard stuff to get their Wishes.

[Photo description: Ollie gets his first COVID-19 vaccine from a CHEO nurse while stuffie Llama Llama Blue Pajamas is hugged for courage. This red and white shirt reads, " Be a changeable - #sgeochangemaker - St. George Catholic School"] 

On November 28, 2021, Ollie was psyched to finally get his first COVID-19 vaccine at CHEO! Honestly when CHEO called me to schedule it I was teary and when he got it I breathed a deep breath of relief. It's not enough yet and he's scheduled to get his second in January and will get a third after that given his transplant makes him higher risk for COVID, but it is an incredible first step towards all of us feeling less anxiety about him being out in public, including school. Ollie felt no pain (my arm after my booster last week hurt for 4 days, but he says he felt nothing!) and aside from being a bit more tired for 24 hours and asking to go to bed early, he had no side effects. 

I have tried to explain to the naysayers online who cry that parents are "torturing" their children by vaccinating them with an "untested" vaccine that they have no idea what really torturing your child is like. That putting chemo, radiation and truly untested in children drugs into their little bodies to save their lives is torture for them and for you as the parent. And all are in the interest of saving their lives. Just like this COVID vaccine is for Ollie. That both of my very bright and aware children BEGGED to get this vaccine in the interest of protecting each other and trying to live a more normal, less scary life. That if my then 12 year old daughter could legally consent (and she was physically and mentally assessed to ensure that she was okay to consent) to give her stem cells to save her brother's life, she and others like her are very capable of deciding to get a vaccine.  

A few of Ollie's friends who were nervous about the vaccine or scared of needles told us that despite this they were going to get the vaccine anyways because they could be brave like Ollie. And then they sent us messages celebrating that they had done it! Again and again people help us and amaze us with their kindness. To-date in Ottawa 50% of eligible kids have been vaccinated in the first three weeks of vaccination clinics and we are thrilled to live in this community where people take care of each other. 

[Photo description: Ollie sits in an pathology exam chair in an exam room at the Eye Centre at The Ottawa Hospital - Riverside Campus waiting to be examined by Dr. Dollin]

On December 1st, Ollie had another appointment with his retina specialist, Dr. Dollin at The Ottawa Hospital at the Riverside Campus Eye Centre. First time ever for us at Riverside! Have to say, that we preferred it! Smaller hospital and less people at the clinic there as well as more modern facilities! Dr. Dollin verified that the pressure in his eyes is manageable with drops, but that ultimately we'd likely eventually have to do at least the lasering of his eyes to correct the pressure issues and stop unwanted blood vessels from growing and admitted that waiting to see if the blood from his vitreous detachment would dissipate on its own did not work. So the only way to clear out the blood pool and try to recover any of Ollie's peripheral vision in his right eye was to do the vitrectomy surgery. At my encouragement he and Dr. O'Connor at CHEO confirmed later that day that Ollie would have the surgery and to my surprise scheduled him for December 15th (tomorrow). 

He's actually having both surgeries (vitrectomy and lasering) on the right eye. It's just day surgery with the prep and recovery after taking longer than the 1 hour 45 minute surgery itself. He'll be sedated and they have promised they'll manage any pain he might have, but said generally there is more discomfort like a scratchy feeling than pain. Recovery is about 2 weeks, so it's good that we'd just planned a quiet Christmas with just us this year. Ollie is upbeat about the surgery and hopeful that it will allow him to recover a bit more vision. He knows better than anyone that there are no guarantees when it comes to medical procedures and the pursuit of wellness, but despite everything remains his hopeful, positive self and believes it will be worth it. We all feel confident, but would totally appreciate your prayers anyways that all goes well and is easy for Ollie. I'll try to at least write a short update when I can.

In the meantime, we hope that you are having a wonderful holiday season despite COVID-19 and the cases rising again. We all know too well now that while there is nothing like being together in person, there are many safe ways to stay connected to those we love whether near or far. Please get your COVID-19 booster when you are eligible to keep yourself as safe as possible and to help us to keep Ollie and other vulnerable people like him safer.