So grateful
Wow!
It's been 8 months since the last blog update and as the saying goes 'no news is good news'!
Emma has been going from strength to strength, going to school for full days and weeks over her grade 7 year. She has a wonderful and encouraging teacher, who has pushed her to try new things and fostered her learning and creativity. She was hesitant at the beginning of the school year to try anything new, just trying to get a sense of what's what and who's who. Now that the end of the year is looming, she seems more open to putting herself out there - she participating - nay, competed - in the Mountsfield track and field day last week and did an amazing job with all of the events. She very pleasantly surprised herself!
Emma has been doing horse riding lessons twice a week - once a week at SARI, where she is in the Ride-On program that fosters independent riding and dressage routines. As well, she has been going to Railside View Equestrian Centre in Dutton and riding a sweet pony there, learning trot/canter and jumps. She loves it all!! She will start showing with the pony she rides at Railside in some of the Prelude Circuit shows and she is very excited for that. A dream coming true is that much sweeter when you have been through what she has. 🐴
Alex has been keeping steady. He seems much more settled in himself and the knowledge that we are getting back to normal, with Emma attending school consistently and doing extra-curriculars. He has been playing WhiteCaps soccer throughout the winter and now is starting into the outdoor season. ⚽ He has been consistent with his academics and social friend connections. He loves fishing, Roblox, playing and having one-on-one attention from me or Chris (all.the.time). 🎣
Our big family news is that we went on our long-awaited, much-delayed trip to Australia! Those that have followed our story may remember that we were set to go on that trip when Emma was diagnosed. This trip was truly redemptive in so many ways. Emma got to celebrate her 13th birthday out there, which was so amazing. Her request was to spend her birthday at Taronga Zoo, which of course we did!!
For me, personally, I didn't believe it was going to happen until we actually landed in Sydney and, even though everything went smoothly, it hasn't been until we got home and have had a couple weeks to settle that it has sunk in that WE DID IT! To add to that - it was incredible! The kids traveled well (despite many challenges and delays getting out there) and had an amazing time with all the family out there. Stay tuned for a video montage that I've been working on. 🌏🌞
Medically, all is going well. Emma continues to go to the Post-Transplant clinic every 6ish weeks for bloodwork and review. She has gone through most of her re-immunizations through the Family Practice clinic and actually I advocated for her to get her measles vaccine early due to the measles outbreak in Southwestern Ontario. She has a few more immunizations to go over the next 4-6 months. 💪
We as a family continue to participate and find immense value in the offerings from Campfire Circle and ChildCan, attending a Weekend At Camp (WAC) in Muskoka with Campfire Circle, as well as their local event offerings, participating in events and Recreation Therapy offered by ChildCan etc.... the healing and community we can find in those events is immeasurable. 💝
I'll leave it here with some pictures of the last many months and hope that you know that we have felt and appreciate your support of our family 💕
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