– Life After Transplant – Food from Scratch – Simple Living
Covid-19. It has turned the lives of so many people upside down. People are forced to cancel family and social gatherings, wash their hands more often, avoid public spaces unless absolutely necessary and remain isolated in their homes with their immediate family. This is a bizarre way of life - anyone you speak to would… Continue reading Life in Self-Isolation
It's difficult to believe that 3 years has come and gone since we welcomed our little girl into the world. Laura was born in the wee hours of the morning on September 11th, 2016 in Saskatoon. When Laura came into our lives we were forever changed. We were changed by her arrival, by the trauma… Continue reading 3 years!
I often tell people that raising Laura is "normal" 95% of the time. We wake up at the crack of dawn most mornings to an almost three year old telling us to wake up because she's hungry/thirsty/bored/{insert other complaint here}. She begs for TV 24/7 even though she knows full well that it's not about… Continue reading The other 5%
Public healthcare was introduced in Saskatchewan in 1962. It caused doctors to walk out of hospitals and go on strike, but after three weeks, they returned to work, realizing things weren't going to change. Prior to this, doctors charged whatever they saw fit and many Canadians went bankrupt from overdue medical bills. In 1966, the… Continue reading What universal healthcare means to me
The words that we speak have an impact; often more so than we know. Off-handed comments spoken with the intention of being helpful are often hurtful, frustrating or maddening. It is impossible to know what someone is going through, so a comment that may be sloughed off as simple ignorance one day could have a… Continue reading Words Have Impact: What to say (and not say) to the parent of a transplant recipient
I am encouraged by other jurisdictions who are headed towards an Opt-out system of donation. This type of system does NOT mean that your organs will be donated against your will but rather that you will have the ability to make your choice when you are of level head and sound mind rather than in the throws of grief, anger and pain.
We celebrated Laura's two year heart anniversary this past January and were given a date for her annual biopsy/angiogram in early February. The protocol at our transplant center (Edmonton) is for the kids to have annual biopsies and angiograms each year for the first 3 years post-transplant. This is due to the increased risk of rejection in… Continue reading 2 year biopsy
Vaccines seem to be a pretty hot topic these days. In 1998, Canada was declared measles-free, with no endemic cases (cases which originated in Canada) found in that year. 21 years later, we are seeing a small, but significant resurgence of this once eradicated disease in our Country. As of week 7 of this year,… Continue reading Because she’s been through enough…
What is normal? When you become a new parent, "normal" suddenly becomes an incredibly important concept. My baby is 7 months old and still not sitting unassisted...is that normal? Better look it up on the "typical development" cheat sheet... hmmm okay, yep it's normal. Phew. Normal is so important to parents - everyone wants their kid to… Continue reading Normal
February is Heart Month and as such, I have been thinking a lot about how Congenital Heart Disease has affected our family. Raising a child that has received a Heart Transplant is weird - no matter which circle you run in. To those who have healthy, "typical" children - you are scary. A burden. A… Continue reading How Congenital Heart Disease has changed us
Our Transplanted Life 