11 Months but almost home!

Today marks 11 months into the Leukemia journey. It was March 5 of last year we got the phone call that sent us rushing to the hospital and then he and Dana flying to Vancouver that afternoon. Eli has had countless pokes and medications and blood products and more. We’ve been through round after round of chemotherapy and immunotherapy and we’re now near the end of treatment that requires him to stay down south at BC Children’s. This week he will finish intense portion of treatment and, after a one week break, will begin the maintenance phase.

Next weekend, after ~345 days Ronald McDonald House BC and Yukon will no longer be home away from home. As Eli has to be back for his first maintenance treatment the following week they will be spending the week at my folk’s place before flying home to PG on Sunday Feb 20, not just for a short visit but for good. This is by no means the end of the journey, he will need to go back for maintenance treatment and check ups about 3 out of 4 months for the next couple years as well as checks locally.

Coming home is a big deal and we’re all looking forward to being together again. We don’t expect it all to be smooth sailing, it’s been a nearly a year we’ve not been under the same roof and there will be adjustments for everyone as we find our way back into routines. Eli will also be transitioning back into school and we’ve been warned kids can really struggle with going back into the structures of school. Parents also often experience a fair amount of stress and an anxiety upon returning home and being so far from the medical team that you were so close to. So the difficulties and stresses of this journey are far from over but at least we will be together.