Rayne is what actually triggered my memory about our first transition to and from Stollery, and it sure seems stuck in my head so I am going to continue to write about it.
My hope it that it offers insight.
On the same token .... once it's out there, I hope it's out of my head.
It's been especially difficult thinking about the past because of the initial trigger with Rayne's stay at Stollery, and now I am working on the new Hair Massacure video (promo 2011), and so this is at the forefront of my mind. In each video I select 2 songs that I feel best represent the event for that year, rifle through 5-6000 photos and select roughly 3-400 that would be appropriate for each line in each song. Some of those photos are from the past. Many are of Kali, some are of other children (survivors). THIS is the most difficult part, much like retelling the story. Today the creation of the video began. Kyrsti and I, laptop and memories. Today is a hard day... so I ate some chocolate.
Back to "Home From the Hospital"...
I think I left off last post with our arrival home from Kali's first month in 4E3. Kali's eyes lit up when we arrived at our home and she was able to see her sisters again.
The sad part of her 3 years of treatment and nearly 9 months (accumulatively) in hospital (or at the Cross Cancer Clinic) was that the kids missed each other so much. Meagan stayed home and manned the fort, looking after Kyrsti and Mandy. There was little opportunity for the girls to spend adequate time with their little sister, as we lived nearly an hour away and it was difficult to get them all together for visits.
Once we arrived home, it was nice to be back in my own bed, and have Kali back in hers. Of course, she didnt last long in hers and some point past midnight she was sleeping between the comfort of her parents. This lasted, well..... lets just say it lasted. :)
I (we) never experienced back or joint problems prior to living in the hospital, even with the many years of karate, and ongoing rennos - my body just seemed to jump back after an injury (and with karate, there were many). 3 years of sleeping on the little foam mattresses they provide in each room (dont get me wrong - we were very grateful for that), and 3 years of rocking (several hours per day) takes its toll on one's knees. I wore a knee brace for 2 years following Kali's treatment, AND replaced the rocking chair after the first year.
There were only 2 rocking chairs in 4E3 (Peds Oncology), and 1 at the Cross Cancer Clinic.
Kali was nearly unconsolable (even with the morphine). Gord and I were rather aggressive about snagging a chair as this seemed to be the only means of comforting our girl.
On a sidenote - this is the reason our first headshave provided 14 rocking chairs to 4E3 in 2003 (little late for us to benefit from).
More than half of the night and most of the day was spent in the chair, strategically positioned next to her bed and IV.
At home the rocking continued, for hours at a time, often without a break. This was very difficult to care for a 4 year old (Kyrsti) as she too had needs (to play, eat, basic parenting). We were fortunate that Kyrsti was a super baby and was the easiest and most placid child in the world to care for, so that helped. Actually she was a big help to me to comfort her sister, but often was difficult to provide lunch for her when I could not get our of the chair.
Once the girls came home, it was nice as they immediately went into rescue mode, assisting with cooking, cleaning, or rocking.
The family made Kali our #1 priority even when others didnt quite understand what we were going through. Some understood and were very supportive, while others - quite opposite. It was eye opening.
I still have the rocking chair. I keep it in another room as I cant seem to let go of it, although cant be around its reminders.
More..... another day. Thanks for reading my story.
Cheers
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