Alas, it was not to be. I pushed her hard this week to adjust, but she's just not ready. It came crashing to a head today, which makes me generally feel like a terrible mother and unbearably sad and hopeless. She was too tired to finish her dinner yesterday and went to bed early. She woke up a lot in the first few hours of sleeping and at 1am she was up, ready for action. I begged and pleaded with her to go back to sleep and she finally complied at 4am. She woke up for the day an hour later. This wouldn't be such a big deal on any other Sunday, but there was a very special fundraiser on today that we had to miss because she was screaming for sleep by 9:00am.
The Sole Sisters running group held their 5k & 1k KidsRun today to support the Victoria General pediatric oncology program. I am a HUGE supporter of this because the clinic here has been an incredible part of Eleanor's healing. They have a part time oncologist and nurses who only work clinic hours, but if they could get the funding, they could merge with the pediatric ward and have in-patient treatment. This means families wouldn't get split up between the island and BCCH in Vancouver when they need chemotherapy. It would remove a huge burden for island families who are already going through the worst experience of their lives.
This was the 3rd annual KidsRun and I am continually amazed by Mena Westhaver, who is the captain of the ship. Mena has been organizing Sole Sisters for the past 7 years and she routinely gets 300+ women out to train for various races in Victoria. I cannot even begin to imagine how she keeps everything together! In addition to their training, they also do a lot of fundraising. Each year they pick a couple of "cubs" and help ease the financial burden for the families of these very sick children. Eleanor was selected this year and we are so grateful to be the recipients of the funds that were raised. I really wanted to attend today's festivities and show these women how much we appreciate their efforts and to show them how great Eleanor is doing. The only photo they had of her was this monstrosity from the day she was ex-tubated.
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| Poor baby bear. |
They deserve to see what a happy and healthy child she is turning in to!
But because I had a dream of the way napping could be, I ruined it for everyone. I am sorry that I couldn't make it out with my little family, especially because I believe so much in what you are doing. So from the confines of the four walls of Eleanor's room (because I am writing this during 2nd nap), I thank you and I applaud you. You ladies (and Mena especially) are an inspiration and I hope that our paths will cross soon. Thank you for doing what you do!
If you are interested in Sole Sisters or would like to find out more information on their annual KidsRun, click here and here.
You're very hard on yourself. Everything isn't always black and white so we do the best we can as parents. You are a fantastic mother. Thanks for sharing the information about Sole Sisters. What an amazing group!
ReplyDeleteMena sent this to me via email and asked me to post it. She really is the most incredible mum I have ever met (is Walmart still accepting Mom of the Year applications??)
ReplyDeleteHello Kate,
I finally got around to reading your post you shared with me. This is touching and I am truly humbled by your words. Because I have walked part of your walk... I will say - that we, the Sole Sisters feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to have met you and learned of your beautiful family... YOU inspired us to move forward and push harder... Eleanor encouraged us up many hills as we know she has climbed mountains and together we all succeeded through the steps that we shared. Thank you deeply and please know - Eleanor, you and your family are a HUGE part of the Sole Sisters family! Thank you! Hugs and wishes of good luck always... Mena