Arrived in Jacksonville Florida

We have arrived in Jacksonville and the heat and humidity is everything we were warned it would be.

The flight was scheduled to leave Calgary at 6am so we were told to be at the airport at 3am.   Jerry worked Friday and didn't want to drive at 2am so we left Rocky at 10pm Friday night and got to the airport at 12:30 Saturday morning.   We waited at the airport until 4am when the airline check in opened and in line again because the customs/immigration booth didn't open until 4:30.  Next time we check beforehand to see when offices open.

We were very tired as we flew out of from Calgary to Houston.   We had breakfast in Houston as we waited for a delayed flight to Jacksonville.  Abby slept a little on both very full flights, trying to master the art of sleeping on a parents shoulder. 

When we walked out of the JAX airport we were hit with a wall of wet heat.  The thunderstorm that had just passed through had lowered the temperature from 35 degrees Celsius to 31 degrees.  The taxi driver was grateful for the cooling off.

Ronald McDonald House is an amazing facility.   They just completed an expansion with a few rooms still being finished.  We have a room with 2 double beds and bathroom.  Everything is wheelchair accessible.

There is a large communal kitchen with an amazing long island. Different community groups and churches make supper almost every night and most breakfast food is donated.  While working in the kitchen we were plastic gloves to help protect the kids who are very prone to catching germs during their treatment.

There are quite a few families staying here, each with their own story of why they need to be close to the health facility where their children is staying or receiving treatment.

We have already met a family from England with a son with the same tumour as Abby.   They are almost done treatment.  We immediately went to shop talk about tumours, surgeries and treatment impacts, sharing with each other experiences we hope others never have.

Abby has 4 appointments at various places over the next few days.   She will get an MRI to map the tumour, a mask to hold hear head in the same place for each dose of proton therapy, and we will walk through all the risks of treatment tomorrow.   It is a busy week before Abby starts receiving treatment next week.  Ronald McDonald House has already coordinated rides to the first appointment.

We will keep posting as we learn more.

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