The day that changed our lives forever. April 30, 2012 we took Liam to the emergency room at the Alberta Children's Hospital. Somehow the triage nurse "just knew". She immediately got Liam through to get a CT scan, and that day we found out Liam had a 4 cm tumor at the back of his head. The neurosurgeon cancelled all her surgeries the next day to make room for Liam's marathon surgery.
I cannot think about that time without feeling sick to my stomach. There are large chunks of time in the last year that are just a blur. I still often wake up and wonder if this all really happened.
I can't say how much I hate cancer for doing this to our 3 1/2 year old boy. I hate how awful cancer treatment is. Liam is facing a lifetime of tests and medical issues as a result of chemo and radiation.
But, having a lifetime of medical issues... means being alive. Even for all the awfulness, I am still so thankful for so many things. I am so thankful that Liam could make it through two major surgeries, and be doing so well. I am so thankful that Liam can run and jump and be a kid. I am so thankful for the amazing care we had. There are so many amazing healthcare professionals, volunteers and child life specialists that go above and beyond for our kids. We had many stressful points and bumps along the way, but treatment is now over. And we got to celebrate the year being over with an amazing wish trip for Liam.
Thank you everyone for everything over the last year. From Facebook messages, cards, gifts, food, donations for the playset in our backyard, to helping out with Madison. I just can't thank everyone enough, we are so grateful for all the support we've had over the year.
The top left picture is Liam on April 30, 2012 when he was admitted to Unit 3 to prepare him for surgery the next morning. He didn't know what was happening, but he knew things were not right. The picture on the right was taken yesterday.
0 comments:
Post a Comment