Another week at home, but this one seemed busy! Maybe because it wasn't a full week and we had a lot to cram into it.
Saturday evening we had a Mundie family reunion at Richard & Noni's new place in Olympic Village. The view, the food and the company were all spectacular. It was great to catch up with the family that was there and we hope to see the ones who couldn't make it soon.
On Sunday we went back into Vancouver for a matinee performance of Much Ado About Nothing at Bard on the Beach courtesy of Starlight Children's Foundation. We really enjoyed it. The play is a comedy and the actors used some great physical comedy as well, so the kids were laughing even when they didn't understand the Shakespearean English.
Eric finished this round of oral treatment Sunday evening. He had his check up Monday this week after receiving a platelet transfusion the previous Wednesday. Unfortunately, his platelets were <5. I guess it isn't a huge surprise at the end of a round of treatment, but I don't like it! He got his platelets and we were headed out after about 2.5 hours. It was only a little after 12:30 so I mentioned to Eric that traffic should be pretty good. Why? Why do I jinx myself every time?!?! Coming down Clark Street in Vancouver toward 12th Avenue I hit the curb and got a flat tire. Only flat tire might be a bit of an understatement. A large flap ripped right open on the side wall. I called BCAA who asked if I had a spare - duh, who doesn't have a spare and they said they'd send someone out to change the tire within the next 1.5 hours. Well forget that, I'm going to change that tire myself. I haven't done it since I was 16, but why not? So I flip open the cover in the hatchback and guess what? NO SPARE TIRE! So I call BCAA back to let them know I actually don't have a spare tire. Apparently this is common in "modern" cars, but my car is also a plug in hybrid and there's a pretty big battery where I thought the spare tire should be. The modern cars come with a tire repair kit instead. However, as I said, it was no small puncture that could be repaired road side or otherwise. BCAA said they'd send a tow truck (in the next 1.5 hours) to take us to the closest tire shop which was only 4 or 5 block away. While all this was happening, one of the nurses that we see regularly at Children's pulled up to get propane. (I had parked at the Super Save Gas on the corner of Clark & 12th.) She tried to help, but not much we could do at that point. She did call the nearby tire shop to see if they had what I needed and I'm glad she thought of that because they didn't! They did say they could get it for us the next morning, but that wasn't going to help me much right then. So I called BCAA back and cancelled them altogether. Then I called Chuck and he drove out to us with the winter tires for my car, and the jack and everything as well, since if you don't have a spare tire, you also don't have a jack. 3 hours after we left the hospital, we made it home.
Tuesday was over to Auntie Jenny & Uncle Jay's house for a visit and swim. Unfortunately, Joel wasn't feeling well, so I stayed home with him while Eric and Chuck went for a visit.
I was sad to miss the visit, but ended up working out well for me because if everything had gone to plan, I would have had only Wednesday to do all my errands and chores and pack for the Island. Wednesday was chill day for the kids; laundry day for the adults so everyone would have clean clothes to pack.
Thursday, Eric and I headed back to clinic. His second appointment was Thursday this week since we're taking a ferry Friday morning. His nurse was so organized that the platelets arrived on the floor just as she was preparing to do his port access, so she was able to get them started immediately. Surprise for us - the doctor had ordered TWO units of platelets. Eric has never had that before and it doesn't give you any more longevity since platelets die in 2-3 days. However, I guess since he'd been less than 5 his last 2 visits, they wanted to give him a bigger boost so they'd sleep better knowing that he was probably going to be wild and crazy (aka 10 year old boy) at camp. Since our nurse was so on top of it, it only took a few minutes longer to get the 2 units of platelets than it did to get the one on Monday. She kept saying she was nailing it and I did say she deserved a gold star, but could she wait until we actually made it out of the building so she didn't jinx us! Luckily, everything went smoothly with the transfusions and the drive home.
Today, Friday, we are headed over to Vancouver Island. In fact, I am writing this on ferry and can see Nanaimo getting closer and closer. We are going to stop at Troller's Fish & Chips in Nanaimo for lunch. Thanks for the recommendation, Tash! Then we will head to Shawnigan Lake for Camp Goodtimes Family Camp. It is 3 nights but we thought we'd make an adventure of it so we're going up Island for a couple days after. Of course, Eric can't go that long without a platelet transfusion, but the lovely people of the pediatric unit at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital have agreed to host us for a few hours Monday.
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