The Mother Loader
Category: Life
I've often mentioned before in previous blogs about some of the adventures
we had with Darrel while driving to various locations in the van. There were
his quick and snappy responses to almost anything and everything that was going
on, the constant sounds from his GameBoy and/or portable DVD player, and the
complaining about how long the trip was taking. It is the last point which I'm
going to focus on this time.
Our home in Fergus is just over an hour's drive away from Toronto, where
the Hospital For Sick Children is located. Because it is situated (with
several other of the major hospitals) in the heart of the city, travel time
could vary greatly due to traffic, construction and/or any other reason at any
point in the day. As most of his appointments were earlier in the morning, we
would usually hit the worst of it each trip...everytime! We often would
encounter several points where we would have to slow down (or come to a
complete stop) along the way. While on the 401, outside Milton was always hit
and miss, around Pearson International Airport/427 on-ramp could be interesting
(to say the least), but the guarantee traffic jam was trying to get on the
Gardiner Expressway!
For the longest time, Darrel would call the Gardiner the 'Mother-Loader'.
With so many on and off ramps, and collectors lanes converging so close
together, it must have seemed quite overwhelming to a young boy from a small
town. Stop and Go traffic would almost always to the norm from this point on
until we made it to Sick Kids. But it was the 'Mother Loader' part of the
journey Darrel dreaded the most. After being bugged about his chosen name for
the highway, he eventually called it the 'Gardener', but I could still get a
rise out of him by calling it the 'Lawn Mower', 'Snow Plower', or something
else along those lines. He would seldom lose his temper with me on any matter
(with his sisters was a completely different matter), but I sometimes had to
watch myself during these exchanges.
Reading blogs that other parents have posted has made me appreciate how
fortunate we were to have been as close to a institution/facilty like Sick Kids
as we were, and how trivial a delay on the 401 was compared to what other
families had to contend with. While we were relatively short travelling
distance to all the places where Darrel received treatments, others families
had to endure even longer drives, and in some cases the child needed to travel
by plane to another city, province/state, or even a different country.
Remembering how much time and effort was made to keep Darrel safe and
comfortable during our trips, I can't even imagine the precautions that would
be needed to transport a child with limited or no functioning immune system,
and/or in great pain, through a busy public airport! I was of course always
worried that our old van could break down, get a flat in the middle of no where
on a cold winter's night, or was concerned about what could be floating around
in the air if we had to stop at Tim Hortons for a washroom break. At least
with these possible situations, we could somewhat control most of the variables
involved. I can think about it in those terms now, but when it is your child,
no obstacle is big enough to slow you down, or give a seconds worth of
hesitation to. You do what you have to do...End of story!
There were alot of panicky trips with Darrel, due to high fevers or other
medical concerns, but these were only to our satellite hospital (affiliated
with Sick Kids) in Kitchener. Had we needed to drive to Toronto in such cases,
those often long and stressful drives would have seemed excruciatingly longer,
and extremely more stressful!
It's odd that I can reflect back somewhat more fondly now on the countless
early morning traffic jams, barreling through snow drifts in the middle of the
night on Trafalger Road, and of course, the Mother Loader. There were a few
times when we had to call Sick Kids and say we couldn't make it in, but for the
most part, we got Darrel there somehow. The many rounds of chemo, various
tests, and weeks of radiation had been scheduled well in advance, and every
effort had to be made to achieve them, but it wasn't always easy. Though they
were often lengthy and unpleasant, these adventures getting back and forth to
Toronto made up a large part of the last two years of Darrel's life, therefore
can not be easily overlooked, forgotten, or looked upon without complete
amazement.
Category: Life
I've often mentioned before in previous blogs about some of the adventures
we had with Darrel while driving to various locations in the van. There were
his quick and snappy responses to almost anything and everything that was going
on, the constant sounds from his GameBoy and/or portable DVD player, and the
complaining about how long the trip was taking. It is the last point which I'm
going to focus on this time.
Our home in Fergus is just over an hour's drive away from Toronto, where
the Hospital For Sick Children is located. Because it is situated (with
several other of the major hospitals) in the heart of the city, travel time
could vary greatly due to traffic, construction and/or any other reason at any
point in the day. As most of his appointments were earlier in the morning, we
would usually hit the worst of it each trip...everytime! We often would
encounter several points where we would have to slow down (or come to a
complete stop) along the way. While on the 401, outside Milton was always hit
and miss, around Pearson International Airport/427 on-ramp could be interesting
(to say the least), but the guarantee traffic jam was trying to get on the
Gardiner Expressway!
For the longest time, Darrel would call the Gardiner the 'Mother-Loader'.
With so many on and off ramps, and collectors lanes converging so close
together, it must have seemed quite overwhelming to a young boy from a small
town. Stop and Go traffic would almost always to the norm from this point on
until we made it to Sick Kids. But it was the 'Mother Loader' part of the
journey Darrel dreaded the most. After being bugged about his chosen name for
the highway, he eventually called it the 'Gardener', but I could still get a
rise out of him by calling it the 'Lawn Mower', 'Snow Plower', or something
else along those lines. He would seldom lose his temper with me on any matter
(with his sisters was a completely different matter), but I sometimes had to
watch myself during these exchanges.
Reading blogs that other parents have posted has made me appreciate how
fortunate we were to have been as close to a institution/facilty like Sick Kids
as we were, and how trivial a delay on the 401 was compared to what other
families had to contend with. While we were relatively short travelling
distance to all the places where Darrel received treatments, others families
had to endure even longer drives, and in some cases the child needed to travel
by plane to another city, province/state, or even a different country.
Remembering how much time and effort was made to keep Darrel safe and
comfortable during our trips, I can't even imagine the precautions that would
be needed to transport a child with limited or no functioning immune system,
and/or in great pain, through a busy public airport! I was of course always
worried that our old van could break down, get a flat in the middle of no where
on a cold winter's night, or was concerned about what could be floating around
in the air if we had to stop at Tim Hortons for a washroom break. At least
with these possible situations, we could somewhat control most of the variables
involved. I can think about it in those terms now, but when it is your child,
no obstacle is big enough to slow you down, or give a seconds worth of
hesitation to. You do what you have to do...End of story!
There were alot of panicky trips with Darrel, due to high fevers or other
medical concerns, but these were only to our satellite hospital (affiliated
with Sick Kids) in Kitchener. Had we needed to drive to Toronto in such cases,
those often long and stressful drives would have seemed excruciatingly longer,
and extremely more stressful!
It's odd that I can reflect back somewhat more fondly now on the countless
early morning traffic jams, barreling through snow drifts in the middle of the
night on Trafalger Road, and of course, the Mother Loader. There were a few
times when we had to call Sick Kids and say we couldn't make it in, but for the
most part, we got Darrel there somehow. The many rounds of chemo, various
tests, and weeks of radiation had been scheduled well in advance, and every
effort had to be made to achieve them, but it wasn't always easy. Though they
were often lengthy and unpleasant, these adventures getting back and forth to
Toronto made up a large part of the last two years of Darrel's life, therefore
can not be easily overlooked, forgotten, or looked upon without complete
amazement.
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