THURSDAY - JULY 10, 2008

Mr. T feels much better today. He is getting used to the medication and so far...he's not sick. He still has pain in his jaw from the extraction and fillings last week...and he gets codeine for that.

Today he had a good day! The male nurse came and played Halo 3 with him several times today...so Mr. T is starting to enjoy himself.

When I saw he was busy with his game....I went to do the laundry. The interlink nurse at Cheo had arranged for the parents here to do their laundry at The Residence, which is a hotel across the street from Sick Kids. There is no laundry facility here at Sick Kids.

As long as you have a 'Parent Pass' from Sick Kids...they will let you do your laundry there. It is not very expensive. It costs $2.25 to wash and $1.75 to dry your clothes...and the dryer lasts an hr.

Mr. T is eating well and sleeping well. It's a good thing the machine's beep loud.....as I have to wake up and use the call-bell to let the nurse know. Mr. T can sleep through anything..but of course...he's a teenager now!

TUESDAY - JULY 8, 2008

It's only our 3rd day here...and Mr. T is homesick. He has been away from home for more than 100 days now...and he doesn't like it here. He doesn't want to do anything but stay in bed.
Although he is on the Bone Marrow Unit...he can walk the halls...go to the playroom when its open or watch a movie. But he doesn't want to. He wants to stay in bed with the computer & watch television at the same time. He says the only good thing about this hospital is the food.

I think he's worried about the bone marrow transplant. I have assured him that everything will work out...but I know its normal to worry.

At Cheo...he didn't like the kid's menu...there weren't too many choices....but here at Sick Kids they have a great menu as well as restaurants to choose from. There are so many choices....it's hard to make up your mind.
While we are in Room 70 in the step-down room...he can eat anything he wants. Once he has his bone marrow on the 17th...he won't be able to. He will only eat what is on the menu. I won't be able to bring him in food and he won't be allowed take-out or hot-dogs because of bacteria.
I took picture's of the menu so you can see the choices he has. He can eat off this menu 'Only' from the 17th of July on....


















Mr. T knows that he can't have restaurant food after the 17th so he is taking advantage of it. The first day he ordered tortilla's on the menu....and made his own tortilla's with scrambled egg and ham and bacon. He also had 'make your own taco's'. They send up whatever you order and you can make it yourself. They also have 'make your own pizza, and pasta. I will bring back a copy of this menu to Cheo...as they are looking into changing their menu.

Mr. T loves BurgerKing as well. I've been going down every day to get him a double whopper combo or a triple whopper. He may as well enjoy the food while he can.

Also I think it's a law in Toronto that once you visit you must have a hotdog or Italian Sausage at a vendor. They have these carts everywhere in Toronto. You can get a footlong hotdog for $2.50 and a sausage is $3.00.
Don't bother telling us what the ingredients are...they are great!

You can be sure when Mr. T is not having Whoppers...he's having hotdogs.
















Toronto is definitely a 'foodies' heaven. Everywhere you look are restaurants & vendors. People walk the streets eating or drinking & talking on cell phones. This is fast-food paradise...and fitness centers everywhere as well. I think they're trying to tell us something. You want to eat - you have to pay the price!

MONDAY - JULY 7, 2008

Today Mr. T starts treatment.

He was given Busulfan as well as Phenytoin.

Busulfan is a chemotherapy drug that is a cell cycle non-specific alkylating agent (slows the growth of cancer cells). More specifically it belongs to a subclass of alkylating agents known as alkyl sulfonates. Currently, its main uses are in bone marrow transplantation, especially in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), where it is used as a conditioning drug. Busulfan can control tumor burden but cannot prevent transformation or correct cytogenic abnormalities. Though not as common, it may also be used for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL).

He will be receiving Busulfan for 4 days. So far the medication is not making him sick.

Mr. T has a wonderful appetite....and although he is homesick & wants to go back to Cheo...he is still enjoying his X-box as well as the computer games., and of course the food.

WE MEET THE TEAM & GET INTERNET...

Early Monday we met the team. Dr. G is the primary doctor on the bone marrow transplant team. I had already spoken to him at Cheo when I had a tele-conference meeting a few weeks ago....he inspires confidence & takes the time to answer any & all questions. Now I got to meet him in person as well as the other doctors on the team, and various other specialists from Endocrinology and Infectious diseases. It's difficult to remember everyone's name...but in time, I'm sure I will. We also met a few people from the Child care specialists who try and make a child's stay here at Sick Kids as stress-free as possible. One of them took Mr. T on a tour so he could see the Starlight Room on the 9th floor. This is a safe play area where kids can go on-line or play X-box with other kids or do 'Arts & Crafts'. He can also borrow movies and books as needed.

They also have 'music therapy' here. What is it? Music therapy is the use of music to promote, maintain & restore psychological, physical, emotional & spiritual health. It is a recognized professional discipline in over 70 countries worldwide. Ruth Roberts is an accredited music therapist at Sick Kids. She plays the guitar, piano & flute. Any child here can benefit from music therapy. Activities may include singing, songwriting, playing instruments, story-telling, improvising, listening, drawing or moving to music. During the session, a care-giver can take a much-needed break, go for a walk or do their laundry. As soon as Ruth heard that Mr. T is interested in guitar lessons...she loaned him a guitar to practice with. Mr. T is quite good so far. He did take guitar in Junior High for a few months and I can see he has natural talent for it.

When I told the Child Care Specialist that Mr. T enjoyed sketching...she brought him a sketch pad so he can draw while he's here. Everyone is bending backwards to make Mr. T's stay here as comfortable as possible. He keeps comparing Toronto Sick Kids to Cheo as that's the only hospital he's ever been at. Hopefully in a few days he will change his mind and see that this is a very nice hospital...only bigger.

At first it was difficult to get hi-speed internet...but it's very important to have it while you are here. While away from home...it is the cheapest way to keep in touch with loved one's and friends. Rogers was too expensive...they charged a set-up fee as well as a package deal, and so was Distributel. Opening a new account with Bell would be too expensive. I would have to open a new account as well as take a package deal.

Also Mr. T has a couple of computer games that he enjoys which cost me $60 for a year membership and from time to time we upgrade his game with new characters or weapons.

We finally found a cheaper alternative. Toronto Hydro has a site called onezone.ca that charges $30 a month for high-speed, with no set-up fee or contract. Yippee!

So far so good! One day at a time!

MONDAY - JULY 7, 2008 - ROOM WITH A VIEW...

This is our room at Toronto Sick Kids. As you can see it's quite a big room. Mr. T has a television set, X-box and DVD player as well as a ton of the latest games., and of course his laptop. Candlelighter's is an organization in Ottawa that helps families with kids that have cancer. They have loaned Mr. T a Dell laptop while he is in treatment. He can use the laptop till he is able to attend school full-time. He loves it. Right now he spends more time on his laptop than gaming. He talks to friends & family on MSN as well as play interactive games on-line.

And the cot I sleep on is very comfortable compared to the bed-chair at Cheo. It goes to prove that you can sleep just about anywhere if you're really tired.

On the left is the view from Cheo when we were on 4North for many months. We had a view of the rooftops!!! Finally...(at right) this is the view from Toronto Sick kids on the 8th floor. I can look out for hours just watching the traffic and people coming & going. There are many hospitals in this area. The Toronto General is right across and just down the street is the Mount Sinai Hospital.

JULY 6, 2008 - TORONTO SICK KIDS.

Toronto Sick Kids is a huge hospital compared to Cheo. The grandkids were amazed at the sheer size of it. On the main floor they have a large cafeteria, The Terrace... where you can choose to eat from many different restaurants. They also have Starbucks, Tim Horton's, BurgerKing & a soup & sandwich restaurant.
The elevators in the Atrium are made of glass so as you go up to different levels you can see below you. It's modern, kid-friendly and very clean.
We decided to have breakfast before admitting Mr. T.
Mr. T refused to eat. He decided at first glance that he was having none of this hospital. We begged & pleaded & nagged....but nothing doing. I think Mr. T was afraid...and I don't blame him. The size alone of Sick Kids can be intimidating for someone coming from a small hospital. Finally we let him sit at the terrace, while we went to get breakfast. When we got back with our food...Mr. T was just sitting there looking so alone and sad. He wanted to go back to Cheo.
His Uncle assured him that this was just another step on his journey to good health. He explained to him that this transplant was necessary for Mr. T to have in order for him to live a long, healthy life.
I told my grandson...that I was well aware of his feelings of sadness & anger...and that he had every right to feel that way...but we were a team...and the plan was to get Mr. T well and get him home....and we needed him as the primary team member to co-operate & help us get the plan on the road. I told him this could be a wonderful experience or a dreadful one...depending on our attitude. Is our glass half-empty or half-full? It didn't take long for Mr. T to decide. He was back in good spirits in no time at all.
As soon as we got up to 8B - the Bone Marrow Unit....they were expecting us. Right away they showed us to our room. And we're in Room 70! At Cheo...we had Room 7...and at Ronald Mcdonald House we had Room 7. It seems the number 7 keeps coming up! They call this a 'step-down' room. We will be in this room till he has the bone marrow transplant on July 17th.
I am able to sleep in this room. They have a steel built-in cot with a mattress for me to sleep on...and drawers underneath for storage. He also has a bathroom which I can't use...because when you are receiving chemo....your urine is very strong...and it could be dangerous to use the same facilities. There is a shower & bathroom in the hallway for parents & caregivers to use.
My son & his wife are allowed on the Unit...but sadly...Mr. T's sister wasn't. She had to wait outside the Unit while T's uncle set up his X-box and games. Only people on the visiting list are allowed to enter the unit...no children under 18. They feel it might compromise the health of the children here. After all Mr. T has been through....we wouldn't want to endanger his health at this point. We're on our way....to new beginnings!

JULY 5, 2008 - TORONTO

I woke up at 6 a.m., to clean our room at Ronald Mcdonald House and pack the rest of our things. Again we had to say good-bye to the wonderful parents I had spent a lot of time with at RMH and the friendly staff here all wishing us success in Toronto.
Mr. T's uncle & aunt came to pick us up at 11 a.m with Mr. T's sister of course. I wanted his sister to come along with us so she could see where we would be living for the next 3 months.
We managed to stuff 3 months of living in his trunk & of course I had to leave some books behind. It was a gorgeous day. I sat in back with my 2 grandkids and we enjoyed the long drive to Toronto. Half-way there we stopped at Denny's to eat & use the facilities. After 3 months at Cheo...it was so nice to see people & traffic everywhere.
Because we stopped several times along the way...we arrived about 7 p.m. and spent the night at the Westin Harbourfront Hotel in Toronto. What a beautiful hotel...right on the waterfront.
We had pizza and later took a walk along the Queen's Quay and watched the boats come and go....and later had ice cream cones. Along the boardwalk we saw mime's and vendors & musicians entertaining the crowds of people. The grandkids enjoyed it immensely as they never really spent much time in a city.
Everybody was hot & tired...after we took our shower....it didn't take us long to fall asleep in an air-conditioned hotel room. Tomorrow we get to see Toronto Sick Kids for the 1st time.