My Favorite Superhero (Parents, Sick Kids, Cannabis and Coping)
CANNABIS CULTURE – "Oh yes.. I see blastomas in there."These were the words of our doctor, the words I did not want to hear.
My 10-month-old son, Carson, had a 10% chance of inheriting a genetic mutation that led to retinoblastoma, a.k.a. eye cancer. My husband had noticed a tracking issue in our son's eyes. I took him to multiple doctors in a fight to get a referral to the Children's Hospital in Calgary, and Dr Gallie, the leading expert in retinoblastoma research and treatment, had just confirmed the dreaded diagnosis. Our son had cancer.
On top of that, his primary care would have to be done in Toronto. Less than 48 hours later we landed, and shortly after that, Carson was confirmed to have a second unrelated cancer, an abdominal neuroblastoma. We were floored. What was to follow next was horrifying and seemed to never end – multiple cycles of systemic and intravitreal chemotherapy, cryotherapy, laser treatments, lumbar punctures, bone marrow aspirations, MRIs, ultrasounds, blood draws, blood transfusions, countless rounds of anesthesia and more.
We collected Warrior Beads at every one of Carson's appointments to commemorate his journey and every procedure he survived, and the bead count grew exponentially.