Chloë’s Cancer Journey
A family navigating osteosarcoma, amputation, and recovery — one step at a time.
After a long five-and-a-half-week emergency admission, Chloë is finally home again. Sleeping in her own bed, seeing Charlotte after weeks of limited contact due to viral restrictions, and being reunited with the dogs brings a noticeable lift. It feels grounding to have her home between admissions.
🌼 March & April Update
Recovery, setbacks, and moving toward the finish line
Mood
Chloë is grateful to be home and surrounded by familiar comforts. At the same time, she remains understandably anxious about getting sick again. Her hair is beginning to grow back, which has helped her confidence and brought some much‑needed brightness.
This month in treatment
Just over a week after coming home, Chloë returns to CHEO on Easter Sunday for routine pre‑chemo bloodwork. What is meant to be a quick visit turns into another unexpected admission — this time for pneumonia and C. difficile, only shortly after recovering from the same infection during her longer stay. She remains in hospital until Thursday.
Thankfully, repeat bloodwork 48 hours later shows improvement, and she is able to avoid re‑admission and spend a few quiet days at home before treatment resumes.
On March 24, we spend my 50th birthday together in the Medical Day Unit — a place that has become a second home. The staff surprises me with an “I’m 50” balloon, and although it isn’t the birthday I imagined, it is meaningful in its own way. That day also marks the first of her final two outpatient chemo days.
Last week’s chemo is harder than most. Although she is admitted on time, the administering of Methotrexate cannot happen until the following day, delaying when she will be able to come home. She pushes through with her usual determination, but the fatigue and nausea are heavier this round.
And now, we head into what we hope is our FINAL week of chemotherapy. If all goes well, Chloë will be able to bang the gong on the inpatient oncology unit to mark her last admission chemo. There is still one final bell in the Medical Day Unit, but because we will continue going there for check‑ins, that celebration will come later.
Where we are now
This phase marks the end of active treatment and the beginning of recovery and rehabilitation. Due to nerve damage sustained during her longer admission, both Plastic Surgery and Neurology are now part of her care team.
Chloë is also beginning follow‑up with the Amputee Clinic at the Children’s Treatment Centre on the CHEO campus. As she gets older, she will transition into the AYA Program at The Ottawa Hospital.
We have now completed Chloë’s Make‑A‑Wish Canada forms. She hopes to travel to Costa Rica to see geckos and experience the wildlife — a theme that followed her throughout her time at CHEO, even appearing as drawings on her ICU room door.
How Chloë is doing
Chloë continues to recover from pneumonia, C. diff, and Covid, and is working through fatigue, weakness, and nerve pain. Emotionally, she has ups and downs, but being home, reconnecting with family, and seeing her hair begin to grow again all help. She is eager to be finished treatment and is looking forward to becoming involved from a youth perspective in programs that support teens with cancer.
Family & life
Charlotte is thrilled to have her big sister home. The dogs continue to be a comfort, and the grandmothers are once again helping keep everything moving.
Last week, I attend my first meeting of the Oncology Patient and Family Advisory Council. It is my first chance to meet other Golden Moms and to learn more about the AYA Program , the work of POGO, and organizations like Childhood Cancer Canada. I’m looking forward to contributing as a parent of a teenager in active treatment.
Gratitude
We remain deeply grateful for the teams who continue to care for Chloë with skill and compassion — the ICU staff, oncology nurses and physicians, the MDU team, Plastics, Neurology, Rehabilitation, and the many others who have supported her along the way. We are also grateful for Make‑A‑Wish Canada, POGO, and the community around us.
One step, one day, one treatment at a time 💛