Settled into RMH and start of being apart...

Yesterday was a full day. After moving over to RMH on Wednesday we had our first night there. First night without nurses coming in for vitals checks or beeps and blinks from various pieces of equipment in the room and outside. RMH will be home for Eli and Dana for the months ahead. It’s an incredible place with so many supports and provides a place for families like ours who are from out of town to stay during treatment. 

Eli had his biopsy and lumbar puncture yesterday as well. It went seemingly well and we should have preliminary result soon but it will be about a week for the full lab work up. With COVID restrictions, only one parent can go into the hospital for appointments and treatments so I said goodbye when they went in for the procedure yesterday. 

With COVID restrictions due to rising cases in our province RMH is no longer allowing parents to come and go between RMH and their home community. This means I’m not able to return until further notice so at this point we don’t know how long it will be until I can return. It sucks, there’s no way around that but understandable considering the number of very vulnerable children there for whom any sickness can cause significant consequences. 

K and I drove home yesterday as well. She has spent 3 weeks with my parents, sister & brother-in-law and nephews where she had an incredibly good time. All good times must come to an end however as she will return to school on Monday. 

A transport truck that went off the road closed the highway ahead of us on the way home so we opted to take the detour around via Lytton -> Lillooet -> Cache Creek. If you’ve ever driven that road, you know it’s not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. We made though and enjoyed some new scenery and got back on track just a couple hours behind schedule. It was good to get home and Rosie was very happy to have some of her people back. 

Looking ahead, we wait the results of yesterday’s biopsy to set the exact course of treatment. RMH is great and will afford more flexibility in the day for Dana and Eli which makes some things easier but sometimes harder for them. There’s a full kitchen where Dana can prepare meals which is great because they can eat familiar meals, the trade off is meals aren’t just delivered to the room on a tray like at the hospital. I went grocery shopping for Dana before leaving so she’s got what she needs for the time being. K and I will be home for the foreseeable future. I’m teaching for the next 2 months at the college along with a few other contract positions I have. It’s going to be a different season of life for us but it’s not going to be forever.