My dearest daughter, As I type this you are upstairs writing down the list of things you need to do. You have just finished reading a bit of “Pride and Prejudice” to your little brothers and are now encouraging them to fold their clothes. You have already given them baths and changed them. You are…
Hug your babies
I blinked. And now my kids are all potty trained. The number of diapers in the house are dwindling and although I cannot be sad about the amount of explosive diapers I no longer have to deal with, the idea that my last baby is no longer a baby makes my heart sad. Their levels…
Autopilot (part 1)
I feel as though I have lived the last four years on autopilot. Ever since September 18, 2015, I think my mind and body has been in a kind of crisis state. To give you a better understanding of what I mean by “crisis state,” consider your last visit to the ER. I haven’t seen…
The lucky ones
Lena: If I pray the Rosary, will Mama Mary allow Daddy to come back? Marcus: I wish I had a dad. I wish my daddy was stronger. Noah: Daddy can come home now. Oliver: I miss Daddy. My dear Lena, Marcus, Noah, and Oliver, Do you remember the day I told you that Daddy wasn’t…
Dreams
Stephen and I started off in a long distance relationship when we were 16 back in high school. This meant the use of many phone cards because long distance bills across Alberta was a real thing and cell phones were non-existent. It makes me feel absolutely ancient to share that bit of information, but that…
The first Christmas
We did it. We survived our first Christmas season without Stephen. Stephen’s last Christmas with us was fraught with tension and anxiety. We were prepping for 3 months away from him as he got ready for a stem-cell transplant. He was very tired the days leading up to Christmas and I was putting in all…
New beginnings
Today marks seven months since I last saw my husband smile. It has been a whirlwind of days; most days better than others. The good days are filled with only two baskets of laundry and the regular noises of a busy household (which usually sounds like four animals stampeding through the house). Some days however,…
Happy Birthday Stephen!
Nothing throws your life off-course as much as cancer. Since 2015 our lives were upturned time and again with visits to the emergency room, weeks at the hospital, early morning or late night trips to the outpatient units…and then for it to culminate in the loss of the one you had promised to spend your…
Stephen’s Eulogy
I come before you today to honour the life of a friend, a husband, and a father. You don’t come across a man like Stephen too often in your lifetime. If you were lucky enough to have shared a drink with Stephen, or played a few rounds of golf with him, or watched a basketball…
The final update
It is with a heavy heart that I write this final update. Stephen has finally overcome his illness and found the ultimate victory in a way that only God knows. He suffered a cardiac arrest on Friday at home and had to be reasucitated several times. He had a strong pulse going in to the…
He is not sick anymore.
After suffering a cardiac arrest yesterday he was resuscitated but slipped into a deep coma and sustained brain injury. He was surrounded by family today and we held him and sang for him during his final breaths this afternoon. He is not sick anymore. He just going to take care of us from heaven now.
When friends become family
While we were away @ja.yc and @jodymaraj have been planning a fundraiser to get Stephen’s necessary equipment for his home therapy program. They raised enough to pay for his RIFE machine and his HALO machine. We are absolutely blown away by the love and amazing support we have received. Keep and eye out for #onelove events around…
Our Extraordinary 