Life is a ride and we’re all aware the ride has its ups and downs and this has been a roller-coaster of a week. From my last posting, you may know our family is dealing with the effects of dementia on our mom who is in a seniors’ home in Northern Ontario. Unfortunately, last Sunday my sister-in-law lost her mother of 86 years old who lived in the same home as our mom and we are all deeply sadden for her loss. Contrastingly, in the same week, SuperWes (Wesley) turned 3 years old and we celebrated his birthday with his family and friends last weekend.

You may remember reading about Wesley, my niece Laura’s son, over a year ago in my 2012 holiday wish “Happy Holidays and Why do Bad Things happen to Good People”, Wesley was diagnosed with brain cancer just around his 1^st birthday. From that day, he, his parents, his grandparents and many other friends and family have been on one hell of a roller-coaster ride. Much of it is chronicled by Laura in her postings on CaringBridge.

Near the end of 2012, while this brave little boy was going through the final stages of his cancer treatment which included radiation, chemo and bone his own stem cell transplants that were harvested earlier, all of which Super Wes put up with like a little trooper, he developed a side effect of the treatment which caused inflammation in areas of his brain, and he became paralyzed on one side of his body.  Since then, his treatments have focused on physiotherapy to improve movement on that side and other therapy to work on issues like understanding and communication.

Well, as I mentioned, Wes has now turned 3 years old and boy, has he come a long way. It was such a pleasure to see him surrounded by all his loving family and supporters and to see him laughing with those who were spending time playing with him or feeding him. His mom Laura made this amazing cake modeled after his favorite food, Christie Vegetable Thins, complete with giant sugar-cookies Vegetable Thin look-alikes spilling out the top.

Wesley has also had the benefit of finding mobility and independence in his high tech and very cool walker which he uses to zoom around the house.

I guess the joy for him and for his parents and supporters is that his walker activity is both empowering and therapeutic as he continues to build control in his legs and his whole body. Swimming is also another great activity that provides these mutual benefits.

So Wesley's ride continues to be a challenging one but it is a miracle that he has come so far and is doing so well given all that he has faced. It is also a blessing that he has such a dedicated team of personal and professional help to work with him and help him through his journey. My heart goes out to my niece Laura who has been so strong, positive and supportive and to Wes’ Gramma Connie for all the love and support that she offers to both of them. 

One day while pondering why Wes and his parents were dealt such a tough hand, my brother Lark, Wes’ Grandpa, said maybe his job is to show us how to be patient, humble, supporting and loving. I guess if you look at it that way, 3 year old SuperWes is definitely delivering on his super hero mission.  

Happy 3^rd Birthday Super Wes!!!

Uncle Brian et al the Maple Ritchies