Hockey, Clinic Day, Hockey and a KCCFA Gala

I can’t believe it has been almost 2 weeks since the last blog.  I guess that goes to show everyone how busy we have been, but at least now it was a good busy and not a busy spent at the hospital.
 
The weekend of the 5th and 6th Ryley was in a hockey tournament up at Crowchild Twin Arenas.  We started off with a Saturday morning game which was a great battle with us losing 1-0 due to an incredible goalie on the other team.  After the first game we went out for a team lunch and everyone had a great time.  The kids all got along and hopefully did a little more bonding as a team.  We had another game in the afternoon which we won.  Saturday night the parents decided to go out for a few drinks and a great time was had by all.

Sunday morning we had an extra league game added to our schedule.  Ryley got to play goal for this game so he was very excited to get to up early for the game.  When we got to the arena there was a mix up with the schedule and the times.  Four teams showed up and the first 2 to get ready were the ones that got to play.  Fortunately one of them was us… unfortunately the other team was a division 3 team (3 divisions higher than us).  Our team played an incredible game of hockey and Ryley made a lot of good saves.  We did end up losing the game, but we were very impressed with the effort our team put out.  It was incredible to see that we were losing 18-0 to division 5 teams and we were able to hold a division 3 team to 8-0 by the end of the year.

Sunday afternoon we had another tournament game up at Crowchild.  It was an epic battle and with 2 minutes left we were down by 2 goals and short handed.  We managed to get one being a man down and then tied the game with under a minute left.  We held on for the tie and the players, the bench and our fans all went crazy.  It really showed that the kids had understood some of what we had been teaching them about not giving up and doing their best.

Monday was a clinic day for Karlee.  It was a pretty typical clinic day and they were out of there around 1:30.

Tuesday night we had the consolation  final of the Crowchild Tournament at 5:15.  It was a rush to get up there, but we had a great game and won.  The players all got a great trophy and enjoyed the tournament.

Wednesday night we received an e-mail from a team member letting us know that one of their kids had come down the the chicken pox.  They thought he had probably started coming down with them on Sunday when he was around Karlee.  Chicken pox in most kids are very minor and rarely cause any issues, unfortunately chicken pox in kids with a weakened immune system can have very serious complications.  Thursday morning Dad called JoJo and let her know what had happened.  After a few back and forth phone calls it was determined that Karlee needed to come in ASAP for a VZIG (varicella zoster immune globulin) shot.  This injection is given into the large muscle in the leg and is supposed to help minimize the effects if she is to come down with them.  It was supposed to be a quick in and out procedure, but it took a long time to get the injection.  It had to be ordered from the blood bank and took over 2 hours to get there.  Once Karlee got the shot she needed to stay for another hour to be observed to ensure she didn’t have a reaction.  Karlee was very upset after the shot because she cried.  She likes to keep proving to everyone how tough she is and finds it upsetting when she isn’t.  Mom and the nurse both had to reassure her that she is tough and there are some things that are going to hurt and it is ok to cry.  Now we are just hoping that her vaccinations worked and that she doesn’t come down with them.

The next weekend brought another hockey tournament; this time it was our own I Am Novice Tournament.  Saturday morning we had a great game and ended up with a tie.  Saturday afternoon Ryley was in goal again.  This game was a little boring for him and he didn’t end up playing well at all.  He seemed bored and wasn’t into the game at all.  Unfortunately every shot they got on him went in.  Thankfully the rest of the team had a great game and we still managed to win.

Saturday night was the KCCFA Quest of the Cure Gala at the Westin.  We had been given tickets by another family whose daughter had also battled and beaten cancer.  Having never been to anything like this it was an incredible experience.  The theme of the night was “the everyday superhero”.  They had a bunch of survivors and kids battling cancer greeting everyone at the door and thanking everyone for coming.  There were also a lot of the volunteers and staff members from the KCCFA there helping with everything that needed to be done.  The table we were at was sponsored by Savanna Energy and was all people who’s life had been touched by childhood cancer.  It was great and therapeutic to hear about everyone’s journey through this awful disease.  One of the couples at the table had lost their son at 18 months to infant leukemia.  It was very interesting to hear about their journey and how quickly things can go wrong.  It was also encouraging to see how strong they were to make it through the experience.

The Gala was incredible; it started with valet parking.  The valet looked at us a little strange when we showed up with a Focus, but they did park it.  The gala started with a champagne reception.  It was almost like you see on TV with people walking around with trays of champagne and wine and other people walking around with the trays of appetizers.  Ian White (from CFCN) was there in his tux as the MC for the night.  We met Corbin’s parents from camp and had a nice chat with them about Corbin and how incredible camp has been for him.  Someone from Avenue magazine was there and took our picture for the magazine.  If anyone sees this could they please let us know.  The formal program for the night was great with lots of entertainment and lots of speakers.  Rose and Savanna spoke about Savanna’s journey with cancer.  It was an incredible story and Rose can tell a story as well as anyone.  They played the 2011 video for the KCCFA.  When the video was over I don’t think there was a dry eye at our table as we knew how much the KCCFA meant to everyone.  You can see the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIZzw6ofBvI.  After the formal program they had dancing, which was nice to do again.

Sunday we had 2 more hockey games.  Ryley had an awful game in the morning and his best game of the year in the afternoon.  We won both games and the kids had 2 good games.  It was a great way to end the year!