December 20, 2022
Twenty-four chemo treatments completed in 2022.
I'm simultaneously SO proud and full of love for Benjamin and his unwaveringly positive attitude, strength, bravery and sense of adventure while also feeling SO broken-hearted that this horrible disease has been part of his story. For Benjamin, as well as for our family and for myself, I'm continuing to work hard to see this journey through Benjamin's lens as well as to focus on the "what we know right now", which is about as good as it could be given the situation.
We thought that it being my sister's birthday might somehow bring us luck at our last appointment of the year however the hackers who attacked SickKids had other plans. A couple of days before Benjamin's treatment the hospital initiated a Code Grey as a result of a cybersecurity issue that affected a number of the hospital's network systems.
While we were able to get all of the testing, care and treatment that Benjamin required at his chemo appointment it took nearly six hours as opposed to the typical two to three hours. For us, the main implication was thankfully limited to an inconvenience and some scrambling to ensure Ella could be picked up from school and our puppy could be walked and fed but I can't imagine how families, doctors and nurses experiencing an emergency situation were coping with the delays. For Benjamin, the extended waiting was a special treat. He had extra time to meet friends, play Playstation, make crafts with Campfire Circle and check out what fun activities the Child Life volunteers were unpacking from the 8th floor closets.
Something I noticed was that even though the Code Grey had been called a day and a half prior, even though the hospital staff were undoubtedly stretched to their limits even without a cyber attack, every single person we encountered was as cheerful, friendly, kind and empathetic as they've ever been. It was exactly the same level of care and compassion we'd come to appreciate at SickKids even with this additional layer piled on to their mental load. Time and again I'm blown away by the level of professionalism and easy connection we experience there and it really does make such a huge difference. While I don't know what kind of person or people would choose to go after a children's hospital, right before Christmas, I'm choosing to end the year with gratitude for the people who've made 2022 not only survivable for us, but who have provided us with smiles, laughs, hope, and world-class care. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, SickKids.