It's still been a fairly busy week, but a much better kind of busy!
On Monday Eric went to school for the full day! They finally got into their classrooms with their teachers, so it was nice for him to find out who his classmates would be, but it was also a bit of chaos attempting to get the class settled and organized. They were learning how to use combination locks and getting their lockers - a highlight of middle school according to the Grade 5s at their leaving ceremony. Unfortunately Eric's lock was broken, so he didn't get his locker set up on Monday and had to carry his school supplies back home.
On Tuesday we were meeting Cops for Cancer at 11:30am and Eric elected not to go to school before that. He was very tired after the full and busy day Monday. We met the Cops for Cancer at Thrifty Foods in Port Moody where we enjoyed lunch with them. One of the riders is an avid Lego builder/displayer/collector and she and Eric chatted up a storm. She told me Eric needed a Lego room, like she has; I told her Eric needs his own house! It was great to see some returning riders from when we visited them last year and lots of new riders as well. From Thrifty Foods we headed out on the road with them. This year we were in the Sprinter van that picked up riders along the route if needed. We had a lovely police officer driving us and Eric got to sit up front with her. He did press the lights and sirens buttons a couple times but they're way up on the roof of the Sprinter and he couldn't quite reach! In the van, we also had a member of the tour support team who had been a pediatric cancer patient himself. They were both absolutely lovely, chatted Pokémon with Eric and let him pick the music in the van. Right after we left Thrifty's, one of the riders bailed. He tried to get back on his bike but his chain was not cooperating, so we pulled over and he and his bike hopped in the van. It's amazing how fast they are! He was fine; he said he'd been showing off and then almost hit another rider so he had to make the choice to bail instead of taking them both out. Then just before the next stop, we had another rider hop in. Her chain also was not cooperating. At the next stop, the bike repair person got the riders fixed up and the rest of that day passed without us having to pick up any more riders. We had a couple school stops in Poco and then toodled around Pitt Meadows a bit before stopping at The Patch Brewery, which is where tour ended for the day. Before we headed home, one of the riders gave Eric a custom made challenge coin for Tour de Coast 2026 which he absolutely loves. It is a very cool challenge coin with lots of texture on both sides. We had a great time on tour again this year and love to be included. The riders are always so thankful to us for attending because they like to see who they are riding for. However, we're the ones who owe them all the thanks. All of these people commit to fundraising and training and then riding 800kms in 8 days - rain or shine, hills and flat, sore butts and legs - so that Eric can go to camp, just like any other kid. Their fundraising directly supports Camp Goodtimes and childhood cancer research in Canada.
Since it's September and Childhood Cancer Awareness month, I will get on my soap box for a minute and say that only 7% of cancer research funding in Canada goes to childhood cancer research, and that includes the money raised by Cops for Cancer. It is not enough. Childhood cancers are not the same as adults cancers in a smaller body. Adult cancers are often a product of environmental factors and childhood cancers are not. For the most part we still don't know what causes most childhood cancers. To support research in Canada: Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast or Michael Cuccione Foundation
On Wednesday we had clinic. The appointment wasn't until 10:30, but it still took an hour to get there which seems ridiculous. This week I've actually had 3 different people comment on the traffic in Vancouver - and one of them was Tom Cochrane! Clinic was relatively uneventful, but a little slow. Eric had his port access, got his platelet transfusion and I had a good chat with his Oncologist about where things were at and where they were headed. Eric's blast count is still relatively low following the IV chemo and he continues to take one (newer to us) oral chemo that has a lesser impact on his immune system. This is so that his immune system can work to fight the fungal infection. However, we'll have to keep a really close eye on his blast count and may need to add additional treatment to keep that under control as well. Fungal infections are slow to treat and even worse in the immune compromised, obviously. The Oncologist said he expects Eric will be undergoing treatment for the fungal infection for at least 3 months. Eric's Oncologist showed him the before and after pics of the debridement of his trachea and he was unimpressed. Apparently he didn't think it would be so gross. Infectious Disease wants Eric to have updated scans after about 6 weeks of treatment, so the Oncologist is hoping to get those booked the same day as one of our appointments next week.
Thursday Eric went to school. The poor kid's backpack was so heavy that he could barely carry it, and that's after I took the binders out and put them in a separate bag. He had all of his school supplies, laptop, lunch and full water bottle. He was very happy to be able to drop his school supplies off in his locker. He only made it a half day but when I picked him up at lunchtime, he was chatting up a storm, so I guess he had a pretty good morning.
On Friday Eric went back to school and actually stayed the whole day. I was expecting a call at lunch time and was really surprised not to get one. Of course, on all the days for him to stay at school all day, Chuck and I had been planning to go downtown about 2pm, but I had to pick Eric up from school at 2:45pm. He had a good day at school, but was really, really tired at the end of the day.
Chuck and I headed downtown and left the kids at home with Grandma, whose flight had been delayed, so she didn't arrive until after we left! We had been invited to Beedie Rocks, which is a fundraiser organized by the Beedie Foundation, and this year they were supporting the Tyler Robinson Foundation. TRF supports families of pediatric cancer patients with everyday expenses like mortgages and car payments. Additionally they cover travel costs for treatment and offer a "family fun" grant. Tyler Robinson had pediatric cancer and he loved Imagine Dragons and particularly their song It's Time. During treatment, Tyler's older brother snuck him out of the hospital to see an Imagine Dragons show. Unfortunately, Tyler did pass away from cancer, but his family and Imagine Dragons created the foundation in his name. We became a TRF family in July of this year and the organization is literally unbelievable; when I was connected with them, I asked another family "Is this for real?"
Beedie Rocks is held in Stanley Park and this is their 10th year. Attendance is invite only and is made up of Beedie employees, business partners and community leaders. There were about 3700 people there, 8 bands and 1 comedian across 2 stages, food trucks and bars all included, and headlined by Imagine Dragons, who were absolutely spectacular. Chuck and I got to meet the band and we were given an autographed album. This is where Tom Cochrane, who performed earlier in the evening, mentioned, repeatedly, how bad traffic was in Vancouver. The entire evening was absolutely spectacular, again leaving me asking "Is this for real?" At the end of the evening, the Beedie family revealed to Tyler Robinson's older brother, and other TRF representatives, that they had raised $3.6 MILLION dollars!!!
Eric has a Pokémon show and a playdate planned for the weekend and we're back to clinic Monday and Friday next week.
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