RMH

“When you are doing 24-7 shifts, it’s like Groundhog Day.” That was Sarah and Mike’s reality for 42 consecutive days, the first six full weeks that their oldest daughter, 6-year-old Peyton, lay at SickKids hospital enduring gruelling rounds of chemotheraphy and other treatments to combat the non-Hodgkins Lymphoma that had invaded her young body.

“She was so sick.  I don’t think we knew how sick she was.  They just kept reassuring us that she would be okay.”

What the family thought was a simple flu, rapidly turned into a hospital visit in Welland, ON, near their home.  A doctor there told Peyton’s parents, “We don’t know what it is, but we know it is not good. I’m not shy to say that we don’t deal with this and we are sending you to a better place.”  Those words likely saved the little girl’s life.

Within minutes, Peyton and her mom were whisked into an ambulance bound for SickKids, while Peyton’s frantic dad followed closely behind, driving from the family’s Port Colborne home, two hours outside Toronto, leaving their 2-year-old toddler behind.

The cancer was at Stage 3.  “She was filled, in the abdomen, by the heart, by the lungs. She had numerous tumours. The doctor said a regular aggressive tumour will double in size in 6 months. Well hers in 40 hours would double in size.” 

Time was of the essence. Peyton’s parents arrived at SickKids in the wee hours of that February morning, paralyzed with fear about their daughters’ health. “Your eyes open up to a very different world. You become friends with families that sometimes you wish you would not have, only because there was a bad outcome and you were there for it.” Six people passed away while we were there, (over a 5 month period).

For six weeks, Mike and Sarah would switch on and off --- one parent sleeping on the hospital floor, while the other slept at the House. 

“Sleep is such an important part throughout this thing. Mike slept on the crib mattress one night on the hospital floor. We just couldn’t leave her and we could not leave each other.  It was so nice to come here (to the House), where it was quiet and where you could rest. 

“We were ignorant to this place.” All of that changed in a heartbeat for Peyton’s family.

“Everyone is here for the same purpose, so you meet so many people. Strangers are your friends. “

“It’s just a phenomenal place. You can carry on your life. And when it got to the stage that she was able to come here and we could bring our youngest daughter, it was like we were a family again. And it meant so much.”

“It’s things that people wouldn’t understand unless they are in this situation, like how much it costs you say to eat out all the time.” 

The House also played a key role in Peyton's rehabilitation.

“Her core strength came back so much and so quickly. We would be downstairs in the gym (clubhouse) til 9:30 every night, running and playing ball. Her doctor was amazed by how well she did, even though she had four layers of stitches.”

"Everything has been thought of here. The House kept us together as a family and it brought Peyton back to us. We will always be grateful."