I haven’t updated for a long time because I have struggled with what to write. I can’t seem to find words powerful enough to express sufficiently how deeply this journey has pushed me. When Cailyn was first diagnosed, I was told that I needed to accept that she had a chronic, life-threatening illness. Frankly, I […]
This is the seventh update I have started and I am very hopeful that I don’t get a writer’s block with this one! I have mentioned it in other entries, and it is just as true now, I am struggling these last many months to find the words that do justice to my feelings regarding […]
I am so very thankful for all of the support we are receiving from our circle of family and friends. I can easily state that this support is a life-line for me. Twelve years in, I am painfully aware of how effectively my resilience has been eroded by the stress I feel managing Cailyn’s health journey. I first noticed my shaky […]
I had the opportunity last week to speak to a group of Masters students on leadership. After I spoke with their professor about her expectations, I was inspired to talk about the idea of “stepping up”. As a student, you learn many things. One of the life lessons you learn when you transition to the “real world” […]
The long week-end is officially over and half the grains of sand in summer’s hour glass have passed. The week-end started with a bang and ended with a whimper. Lauryn and Delaney, her beach volleyball partner competed in their first beach provincial championships on Saturday. It was a rocky start… Lauryn had slept very poorly on Friday […]
I had my MRI yesterday and am very happy to know that my tumour is still stable. I actually asked the doctor if he was sure it hadn’t gotten smaller… and he quickly assured me, “No”. At least I tried! Walking along the corridors of the hospital where I had Gamma Knife radiation a few […]
I would like to use this vehicle to honour my Uncle David. Uncle Dave lost his battle last night with a rare blood cancer. It is a disease that he has battled for a decade. And, although there were moments we were hopeful, in the end, the disease won the battle. My parents, my […]
Cailyn was working on her media project over the week-end. Her topic is: “how perceived / real disabilities have always inspired / continue to inspire contrasting reactions”. She didn’t pick this topic out of a hat, it is a topic she crafted. When I asked her what her goal was for this topic, she said she wanted to […]
Last night I was thinking about the idiom “stick your oar in”… and it got me thinking about how similar parenting is to rowing a boat. The more I thought about it, the more I convinced myself of its truth. Once you are a parent, you are always “IN the boat”… and, I don’t mean […]
First things first, Cailyn is recuperating nicely. She is able to manage any discomfort she is feeling with ibuprofen. I love how maturely she approaches it… “Mom, it’s uncomfortable, but it’s not unbearable!” Being home from the hospital this week, one of the pressing questions has become when will she return to school. Over the […]