Home Life

Paula and Wren returned home last Friday night. They were both so excited to be back that they couldn't sleep and it has taken a few days to adjust to home life again. Wren stayed energetic and playful throughout this latest round. She really is gaining strength, a good sign.

Paula said an emotional good-bye to many of the nurses and doctors that we have gotten to know over the past year at the BC Children's Hospital. They are amazing people and we have always felt confident under their care. We have a lot of knew friends in Vancouver.

The snow is gradually melting from the yard and a bit more of the lawn appears with each day. We've been outside a lot and Wren loves to ride her push-bike, though now she would like one with pedals so that she can be like her sister.

Both girls have been helping with the maple syrup production. Every few days we walk up the road about 1/2 km and then into the woods another 1/2 km to collect maple sap from 95 trees. It can be quite a bit of work when the snow is soft. And quite a bit of work when it is hard too.

Yesterday we brought out about 160 litres (about 350 pounds). We bring it out of the woods on a sled, which can get a bit tricky on the steeper parts. We now have 400 litres of sap ready to make into about 10 litres of syrup. I've lit the stove on the evaporator this morning, so today we will spend most of the day tending the evaporator and playing outside. So far we've made 11 litres of beautiful golden syrup at about 7 hours of labour per litre.

Wren continues with a few different medications for two more months. The good news is that I only have two more injections to give. We will all be happy about the end of that. Some of these medications cause mood swings, so Wren is not always joyful. Then again, most three-year olds I know have moments of anguish and frustration.

Wren has also been waking frequently with nightmares. We, all four of us, are all still processing this very intense year and it will take some time for it to settle. What does life look like when living with cancer? We still don't really know. What is normal? Where do we go now? These are all questions that we are trying to figure out. For now, we are all together, and happily so. And in a few week's time...Hawaii.