Nov 29, 2015
Before I could feel too sorry for myself, Andrea – Phil’s
sister and one of my closest friends – ended up in the hospital…She needed an
emergency appendectomy for an almost burst appendix…It all happened so fast –
Phil ended up sleeping at their house with the boys the night she went to get
her pain checked out, and then brought them to our house in the morning, where
they stayed for the weekend. Andrea ended up having to stay in hospital for 5
days. We are a pretty open family. When I went through treatment, it wasn’t
only my kids who suffered. Unlike my kids who had no pre-conceived notions of
canser, my nephews knew a kid from their school who died from a brain tumour.
They were well aware canser can kill when their mom told them Aunty had breast
canser. I think it was hard on them in a different way than it was for my kids.
Remembering how worried my own kids were about when I was last in hospital we
tried to keep them as distracted as we could, while making sure they spoke with
Andrea and Mike and visited her in hospital. Kaedyn seemed ok but Ryder, my
younger nephew, was pretty quiet. We took them to the Christmas market to see
the reindeers and all the crafts and music etc. And they all slept in Ethan’s
room – 2 in the bunk and 2 on a mattress underneath. I’m not sure how much
sleep they actually got but they sure seemed to enjoy it! It was nice to be
able to do something for someone else for once…and me not have to be the sick
one. My self pity melted away for a few weeks as we tried to help out.
I’m happy to say my nephews weathered Andrea’s hospital stay really well. They
were worried of course, but still were able to have a good weekend. Ryder was a
more animated after the 2nd time of visiting Andrea when she was more
perked up and feeling a little more comfortable.
Later my kids admitted to me they wondered if she would die
when she was in hospital. I guess that’s the sad reality they live in – their
first experience with sickness was a pretty intense one so now they brace
themselves for anything else that has to do with hospitals and doctors,
assuming the worst. We quickly got rid of that notion and explained that most
of the time when people get sick, the doctors can help and people get better.
But I think time is the only thing that will reassure them that what we told
them was in fact true. We were almost a year since I was done treatment, and
still the kids were being affected by what we went through as a family. (for
those who think the impact of canser ends when treatment does, I can tell you
differently. So could my kids and my nephews.)
Anyways, thankfully Andrea made a full recovery.
And admidst all this craziness, Phil’s birthday was upon us…
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