We arrived home on Sunday, and we were happy to do so. I found this trip a bit more stressful than prior trips. The surgery component was very stressful for me, made easier only with my trust in our surgeon. It is a difficult thing for a parent to hand over their child and have no idea what procedures will happen during that time. For me, our hopes were for the procedure that we did have – a 2 1/2 hour surgery, but I was also aware that this could once again be a full day surgery. I found that a stressful component this time. As well, I found the Covid component also very stressful. My heart (and respect) again goes out to those who wear PPE all day as it is exhausting and restrictive. Both Ben and I wore PPE any time we were out in public (mandated now in Quebec as of this Saturday), and Ben found it difficult to hear, and I found it created a bit of a wall between us. Ben and I were not required to wear PPE when we were in a hospital room, but anyone who dealt with us had to. I was also worried about our flight out, and I was constantly checking to see if our flight was listed as Covid positive, which it didn’t.

Ben is doing great. It seems that his sensitivity is evening out a bit. Today was our dressing changing day, which actually went pretty well. I used two products – straight alcohol (no, not mine) and a product called Detachol to minimize the pull on his hair. It actually worked quite well. However, afterwards, he wanted to look at his back in the mirror using my phone. I then showed him pictures I had taken. He sat down on the couch quickly. I asked him if he was ok and he said he was fine. I told him I noticed his lips were quite white and I didn’t think he was fine. He said he felt ok and his vision was coming back. Wtf??? I’m like….”ummmm what?” He goes – “yeah…I feel ok now that all the colours have stopped in front of my eyes…the chimes in my ears are quieter too”. Me: “ummm, so when I ask if you are ok, then maybe ‘fine’ isn’t the appropriate response if you’ve become suddenly blind and are hearing the bells of St. Mary’s in your head”. Oh this kid – I tell you! You see what I am working with here! I think he just got grossed out by the way his back looked (see Donna – I’m not exaggerating…a normal person – one who doesn’t look at gross things for a living – finds this sort of stuff pretty gross). Ughhhh Anyways, I suspect Ben will continue healing just fine. He is pretty giddy over the fact that his sister is doing his chores for the next two weeks. We will do some more xrays in about 6 weeks and send them back to our team in Montreal. I’m feeling like this is enough drama for one year!

Anyways, top three lessons learned through this trip:

1. It’s good to be paranoid – always communicate with your team even though something looks like it might not be a big deal (ie: little red dot).
2. The airlines appear to be somewhat back to normal except they charge the same price with no services – and the more paranoid flight attendants wear full-on haz-mat suits that make you feel like you’re in a sci-fi movie. And yes…the flight on Sunday was PACKED – even middle seats, so keep that in mind when booking. My super-crazy early flight on the trip out was way less packed, but I had to be at the airport at 5:00 a.m.. On the flight home (in the middle of the day), the row in front of me had 3 adults on each side and two babies….packed!
3. Although Uber-eats seems like a magical thing to this rural country girl who can’t even get a pizza delivered to her house, some restraint should be used in the future. I believe I made quite a few Uber decisions that I now regret…or maybe I don’t…did I mention magical!