Skip to main content

A clinic of support

Tiny voices, bright faces and joyful laughter filled the playroom by 8 a.m. The teens had their video games, the toddlers had their trains and for a moment all looked right in the world.

Except all of these kids were bald. All of these kids had lines and walked or crawled with IV poles attached. All of these kids have cancer. 

This busy playroom is at a Children's Hospital where week after week kids of all ages come to get chemotherapy treatment. 

The children play together - some too young to even understand the bond they share from their experience with this disease. And the parents - they smile, they laugh and support one another. 

Today, I was back in this clinic with Xavier awaiting his lumbar puncture. It has been four years since we have been there. Time has helped me forget. But, as much as I want to forget the devastating diagnosis and everything that followed, I fondly remembered the strength and kindness within those four walls of the oncology clinic. 

A woman approached me today, noticing I was a newbie to the clinic. She introduced herself and wanted to know how I was doing. Just three short months ago, her daughter was diagnosed with ALL. But now, she was offering me support as she settled into the "routine" of  having a child undergoing cancer treatment. 

After our conversation (explaining we went through treatment and attend the after care clinic now) I looked around the room and saw so many strangers being there for each other. Through tragedy comes togetherness and through togetherness comes strength. 

Clinic was good for that. Sometimes I miss that weekly support group. Now I live day after day with a child who had cancer, but no required weekly meet-and-greet with others who share the same fears and concerns. 

I would never want to go back to that clinic. But in hindsight, it is comforting to see the good that came out of that experience. I likely didn't see it back then, but my refresher there today now as an outsider, has given me a fresh perspective.

I was reminded again how incredibly grateful I am to be where we are today. Never forget where you have come from.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The dragon in his head

As far as my son knows, there was a dragon in his head. This dragon was big and scary and made him feel sick. But as far as my son knows, we stomped that dragon out. The idea of Xavier's cancerous tumour being a dragon in his head came from a movie that had been given to me by another mom of childhood cancer. Paul and The Dragon is a powerful 20-minute video of a young boy with cancer. Although it is generic (not about brain tumours), and there are no words, it is incredibly telling. For any family who has been through a similar experience, you will instantly connect with this boy and his family. And for my kids, who are very young and don't exactly understand medical terminology, the story is easy to understand and has provided a great foundation for how to talk to them about Xavier's journey with cancer. The movie was so popular among my kids that it became part of our regular Friday night movie rotation. My son even requested it while he was in the hos...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kids need to be kids - even with cancer

No one wants to see their child hurt. But when you have a child with a serious medical condition, seeing your child in pain can often be a frequent occurrence. Physical pain is one thing - emotional suffering is another- one I had little experience with until recently. (Yes, I am struggling, so that's why I am writing!) When Xavier was initially diagnosed and treated for brain cancer, he was a baby. He couldn't talk, express his feelings or even remember the trauma he suffered. Now, he is older, smarter and more thoughtful - yet too young to understand. About a month ago we started to see a change in Xavier. He was different. His sleep patterns changed, he was lethargic and other symptoms arose that concerned us. An MRI was immediately scheduled, followed by appointments with multiple doctors. A lumbar puncture has now been scheduled. I am not concerned they will find more cancer. I am not worried there is anything physically wrong. What has me scared and heart broken i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Open wounds

I respect everyone who wants to help our family and offer some advice on how to help in our current situation, but I am frustrated because most people just don't understand the complexity of the issues. I am so tired of hearing, in some form of another, just make them suck it up! My children are behaving normally for a 3-4 year old. They are 6. Their behaviour is associated with many internal hurts, trauma from our experience of having a child with cancer. Yes, someday things will have to be different. But just a few short months ago our lives were turned upside down again. Look at it this way... if your child got hit my a car and had a gushing open wound to the head or leg, would you just tell them to suck it up?? Of course not. You would need to seek medical treatment ASAP and have them treat the wound so it can heal properly followed by proper physio therapy. Well my kids have a big open wounds in their hearts right now. If we leave it and just make them suck it up th...
Post a Comment
Read more