{"id":42,"date":"2016-05-17T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-17T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/?p=42"},"modified":"2016-06-10T21:30:45","modified_gmt":"2016-06-10T21:30:45","slug":"pulling-together-parents-in-the-boat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2016\/pulling-together-parents-in-the-boat\/","title":{"rendered":"Pulling Together: Parents In The Boat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cJason was at the back of the boat and I was at the front, so I would sign the coach\u2019s instructions to him. As the lead stroke, I was in charge of setting the pace. Imagine that, a deaf person in charge of keeping the rhythm for the team. But I could do it because I could feel the vibration of the drum.\u201d ~ Robin Buck<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Physically fit and active, Jason and Robin Buck easily took to their crew positions on Kids Cancer Care\u2019s Parent Team for the<\/span> 2015 Dragon Boat Races<\/a>. Jason is powerful and strong, so his spot at the back was perfect. As an experienced paddler, Robin was a natural for lead stroke.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being 100 per cent deaf didn\u2019t pose a single issue for either Jason or Robin\u2014or for the rest of the crew.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rumors have it that the Kids Cancer Care Parent Team would have won gold instead of silver in the 2015 race, if Jason hadn\u2019t been called away on race day to be with their son Kellan because their babysitter cancelled.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our friends on the team still bugs Jason every time he sees him,\u201d says Robin. \u201cHe says, \u2018We would have won if you hadn\u2019t left us.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s all in jest and a testament to the bonds parents make, while training and competing together in the Dragon Boat Races each year through Kids Cancer Care\u2019s Parent Program.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was a time, however; when being deaf presented a titanic obstacle for Jason and Robin\u2014when their four-year-old son Kellan was diagnosed with leukemia.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was holding Kellan in my arms,\u201d says Robin the night they received Kellan\u2019s diagnosis. \u201cHe was crying and I couldn\u2019t hear ANYTHING, but the doctor\u2019s lips were moving. Then I saw my mom fall into the chair. That\u2019s an image I\u2019ll never forget. I said, \u2018Will someone please hold Kellan, so I can figure out what\u2019s going on here?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jason took Kellan from Robin\u2019s arms and the doctor turned to her and said, \u201cKellan has leukemia. We need to get him to the children\u2019s hospital now!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After a few days at the Alberta Children\u2019s Hospital and starting chemotherapy, Kellan took a turn for the worse. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and placed in intensive care.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we were in ICU, everyone was wearing masks,\u201d says Robin. \u201cEighty per cent of my hearing is through lip reading, so I couldn\u2019t understand a thing. It was awful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To help, their eldest daughter Jazmine would come in to Calgary from Canmore to meet with the doctors and take notes. Afterwards, she would return to Canmore, transcribe the notes and email them to her parents.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe never really knew what was going on until two days later. It was terrifying.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If Mom and Dad were terrified, little Kellan was horrified. But true to his name\u2014Mighty Warrior in Gaelic\u2014Kellan fought the disease at every stage<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a stubborn little guy,\u201d an ICU doctor said to his parents. \u201cBut you know what? That\u2019s what will pull him through all of this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kellan is now in his third year of treatment. He\u2019s swimming again, golfing and playing baseball. He\u2019s also less anxious and starting to be more independent. He\u2019s in grade one with excellent marks and, although he still suffers from separation anxiety and is still mistrustful of adult strangers, Kellan has a close circle of friends\u2014mostly little girls\u2014who look out for him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Kellan was in isolation at home, his best friend used to come over and stand outside on the porch with a window between them just to be with him,\u201d says Robin.<\/span><\/p>\n

The isolation was also tough on Mom and Dad: \u201cIt was a hard lesson to learn,\u201d says Robin, \u201cPeople you thought would be right beside you in this tragedy were absent and people you barely know were the ones picking us up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, the Bucks discovered Kids Cancer Care early in Kellan\u2019s cancer journey: \u201cKids Cancer Care has given us another family, one who understands what we are going through, a support system for when we are tired. And it gives us a chance to give back too,\u201d says Robin. \u201cIt\u2019s like living on an island with no boat; Kids Cancer Care gave us the ferry-ride back in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe best thing for Kellan is getting away from the hospital and the house,\u201d says Jason. \u201cHe loves the bunk beds at<\/span> Camp Kindle<\/a> and the freedom to run around the grounds. He\u2019s a nature kid, so he loves the pond and the fields. He\u2019s happy there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you for making our year-round outreach programs possible for parents and kids. In 2015, you helped give 2,592 participants a chance to get out and get active in a community of families that understands and cares.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cJason was at the back of the boat and I was at the front, so I would sign the coach\u2019s instructions to him. As the lead stroke, I was in charge of setting the pace. Imagine that, a deaf person in charge of keeping the rhythm for the team. But I could do it because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-outreach"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":314,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions\/314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}