Teddy was only two when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL. He had been pale, clingy, and not acting like himself and as this was during the pandemic, it was first thought he had contracted Covid. When he wasn’t improving, his parents took him to the local hospital near their home in Raymond where bloodwork revealed Teddy had a very low red blood cell count. He needed to be transported to the Alberta Children’s Hospital via fixed wing airplane by the Pediatric Critical Care Transport team right away. That night at the Alberta Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) he needed three blood transfusions.
When the diagnosis came back, Emily and Ryan were understandably shocked and scared. But as parents of a daughter with complex medical needs, children’s hospitals were not new to them, and they felt they were in the right one for Teddy. Soon, he began chemotherapy, and despite the caring hands administering it, it was rough on his little body. Emily emotionally recalls how her boy would say “Mama, save me!” and “Mama, make it stop!” and how because she was pregnant, couldn’t go in in with him to get an X-ray when he was scared. The family had to put their lives on hold to move into the Ronald McDonald House for a year while he went through his treatments, which became easier for Teddy to tolerate thanks to his nurses and doctors who tried to always make appointments fun – including cotton ball fights with Dr. Lewis. During this time, tragedy struck when five months into her pregnancy, Emily went into early labour and sadly, lost their baby boy Johnny. The family returned to Raymond to bury their baby, and one day later, were back at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. “We had to try to save our other son,” Emily says, recalling how nurse Paula comforted her during this incredibly emotional time.
Teddy enjoyed a year in remission at home with his family – going to Disneyworld, seeing family and friends and playing in the dirt. And then, sadly, the cancer came back in August. This second time around, the chemo has been more intense, causing him to lose his hair in a month, be sick to his stomach and have painful mouth sores. However, Teddy has been eligible for an immunotherapy treatment between chemo that harnesses his immune system to fight the cancer. He has been tolerating the treatment well and has more energy and less side effects, plus it’s portable – he can get the infusion 24/7 through a pump he carries around in a backpack.
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Currently, what has been a “godsend” is the Hospital at Home program. Teddy can receive his chemo treatments in the comfort of their apartment by caring, specialized nurses, rather than needing to go to hospital. It’s also been a game changer for Emily too, who is legally blind and doesn’t have to worry about going to the hospital as often.
It’s truly hard to believe all this family has been through, but what keeps Emily going is Teddy. His strength and zest for life is inspiring. To Emily, their doctors and nurses are like family and “angels in scrubs and stethoscopes” and when she thinks of what the hospital means to her, one word comes to mind. Hope.
