Elara went in for surgery right away and then over the course of the next 94 nights, would go through four rounds of experimental chemotherapy for her rare type of cancer. During an incredibly stressful time for the young family, Ronald McDonald House BC and Yukon was a safe place to land for Elara, her mom Jessica, and her dad Nico.

At the House, they found a place where Elara could just be a kid no matter what she was going through at the hospital. “Never once did Elara feel like she was sick because there was always something there for her to do,” remembers Jessica. “There were slides, and the children could all participate even if they had their central lines attached.” Nico agrees, “Elara got to be a kid the whole time. That’s a big part of the healing process!”

Staying at the House meant that life could go on, even for families far from home, facing the unimaginable. “All the major holidays were covered so we felt like there was some slice of normalcy despite the chaos that was going on the background,” says Jessica.

And more than just a place for kids, the House became a home where Jessica and Nico could feel safer as they navigated treatments far from home during the pandemic. It was only a short walk to the hospital, meaning that they were always close and connected to Elara’s medical team. And the House itself was a place of safety for the family. “They did everything they could to keep our family safe and to keep other families safe, while maintaining their amamzing demeanour, feeding us, continuing to hold space for us when we were struggling,” shares Jessica.

They had family meals, and also snacks from the Save-on-Foods pantry program. They had an army of helpers, from the front desk staff who never missed a beat, to the cleaning staff who always stopped to share a kind word or a treat for Elara.

A large part of what made their stay so special was the supportive community of other families that came to be the Isagawas’ support network. “With Elara’s cancer and the rarity of it, it’s a struggle to find people to connect with, who understand the complexities,” says Jessica. “At the House we connected with so many different parents who were going through the same thing that we were going through and we walked away with chosen family – chosen cousins, best friends even, all because of RMH BC.”

And while intensive treatment comes to an end, life is still changed forever for many families – and that is something that the Isagawas’ RMH BC support network continues to help them with. “I left with a clean up crew to help me navigate our new normal, with cancer always leading the way,” says Jessica.

Elara now goes for regular tests every 3 months to make sure that her cancer is under control. Back at home in Kelowna, she is a happy girl who loves her puppy and her family, and wants to be a doctor when she grows up!