For most of us, 2020 will be known as the year of COVID. The year that we stopped shaking hands and started wearing masks, that schools, businesses and even borders closed. 2020 was certainly a year that our way of life changed and a year that most would like to forget. This could not be any more of an understatement for our family.
Much like the rest of the world, in 2020 we were just trying to stay healthy during the pandemic. We were trying to adapt to online learning, Internet shopping and FaceTime as the new way to visit family and friends.
As the pandemic lingered, you could feel the frustration from so many starting to set in and we were no different. Sick of not being able to do everyday things, I remember thinking to myself, ‘How much worse can things get?’ How I wish I could take back those words.
Little did we know that on October 1, 2020, our lives would be changed forever.
What started out as a routine eye appointment quickly changed when we were brought into a private room and told that our two-year-old son, Lachlan, had tumours in both eyes. It was the first time I had heard of this specific type of cancer: Bi-lateral Retinoblastoma. Hearing these words, about what we thought was our perfectly healthy little boy, was the most gut-wrenching news we ever received. It has shocked and terrified our family and it is news that we often still struggle to deal with.
Nothing can prepare you for this. That one sentence stopped us in our tracks.
Why did this happen to Lachlan? For the first time in our lives, we realized first hand that cancer truly does not discriminate. Cancer simply doesn’t care. What we had worried about the day prior didn’t seem all that important any more. Nothing else mattered but getting Lachlan the help he needed.
Within 23 hours, we were four hours from home at Toronto’s SickKids, meeting some of the top retinoblastoma doctors in the world. Retinoblastoma is a rare type of childhood cancer; there are only about 20 children diagnosed per year in Canada.
In that very first meeting, we felt the urgency from the team of doctors who were prepping Lachlan for his MRI. This would determine how advanced his cancer was and help them develop a chemotherapy plan.
Once chemotherapy was initiated, we were required to attend our local hospital in Windsor for constant bloodwork. It was in our very first visit there that we met Lorraine from Childcan. She very patiently explained all of the services that Childcan offers and even shared some personal experiences. This made such a difference for us and helped us realize that we are not alone in this fight.
Through Childcan, Lorraine has provided our family with gas and restaurant cards, set up parking at SickKids, given us gifts for not just Lachlan, but also our daughter at Christmas, assisted with finances to offset hotels, and the list goes on.
Nothing can make going through childhood cancer easier but lessening the burden in other areas certainly allows us to focus on exactly what is important during these times – the health of our child.
Since Lachlan was diagnosed, he has had a PORT inserted in his chest, an MRI, four rounds of chemotherapy, eight exams under anesthetic, four hearing tests, 47 Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor shots, three blood transfusions, his blood checked 13 times, and eight COVID tests. He has had his right eye lasered five times and his left eye lasered four times and cryotherapy done two times.
In March 2021, Lachlan was one of the first people in the world to participate in phase II of a clinical trial where a chemoplaque was stitched directly to his eye in hopes of killing this tumour off and saving his left eye. And despite all of this, he still has a very long road ahead.
Thank you to Lachlan’s family who shared their story in our 2020 Report of Hope.
UPDATE, April 2024
Since the Report of Hope article in 2020, Lachlan continued to have various types of treatment. The chemo plaque did not work as expected and new spots required him to go on three more rounds of intra-arterial chemotherapy. This type of chemo is by injecting chemo medicine through the femoral artery, a surgery that takes 3.5 hours to complete each time. Post IAC, Lachlan has continued to have numerous new spots lasered, and more cryotherapy completed.
His most recent reports have been positive and although he continues to be closely monitored in Toronto, his appointments are now every 2-3 months. Despite all that he has gone through and continues to go through, he is an active little boy that loves to play a game of soccer or baseball, break a board at taekwondo or entertain his friends with a magic trick.
Childcan has been a part of our journey from the very start. Over the past 4 years Childcan and specifically, Lorraine, has been there to support us through the emotional and financial hardships that we faced. Everything from parking vouchers at SickKids Toronto, gas cards, hotel discounts and the frequent check-ins have all helped us get through a tremendously difficult time. By supporting Childcan, you are helping to provide support and assistance to families within our own community, such as ours. We are forever grateful for Childcan and they will always hold a special place in our hearts.