#SickKidsDadStrong: Reid
Guest blog by Reid, dad to SickKids patient Ava
Shortly after my wife, Jill, and I had moved to Toronto in 2010, we received the great news that we were pregnant with our first child. Leaving behind our extended family and support system to begin a new chapter of our life in Toronto we knew we were in for a challenge. Our son, Jaxson, who is now five, was born happy and healthy in July 2011. A few years later we were again blessed with the news that Jaxson would have a baby sister. Unfortunately this time things were different. Our daughter, Ava, was born a month early on November 1, 2014. Within hours of Ava’s birth, we found ourselves at SickKids and our family of four was put to the test. Ava, diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and short gut syndrome, was in the hospital for 230 days straight.
Jill and Jax didn’t leave Ava’s side but I had a job to maintain so that I could continue to support our family through this tough time. I work as a Chef where I’m sometimes at the restaurant well into the night. My hours are tough and often irregular. I would work some days until well after midnight and, instead of going home, I’d first stop at SickKids to see Ava, get a few hours of sleep by my daughter’s side and then head home for a quick shower and meal before heading back to work.
People ask us how we did it – just Jill and I in a new city with a sick child. When you’re a father, you do what you have to do and somehow you make it work. We quickly realized that we weren’t alone. We found a new family at the hospital and it wasn’t long before SickKids felt like a second home.
We got through 230 days and now we cherish every moment we’re together at home. It’s still not easy. Ava’s condition requires home therapy and medication on a daily basis and she is constantly at risk of getting sick. She has been admitted back at SickKids 6 times since that first 230-day admission. I still work most evenings and weekends so family time is sparse. When the four of us are together, we love to spend those precious moments heading out on adventures. Ava and Jax love playing at the park and exploring all the ice cream Toronto has to offer
Ava will be a SickKids patient for the remainder of her childhood. I will remain #dadstrong for my family, but I am also grateful to know that we now have a team behind us here in Toronto that will help me and my family get through the challenges and celebrate the wins, both big and small, that Ava will experience.
