Surgery Recovery Update / What's Next...

Surgery Update:

Yesterday we got a visit from Caroline’s surgeon, Dr. Chung. He was super impressed with her progress, determination and great attitude!  So much so, that barring any unforeseen complications tonight, she will be going home TOMORROW!!!  That's at least 3 days earlier than planned!  She's rocking it!

To put this amazing recovery time in perspective, over the last 36 hours, Caroline has bounced back from 8+ hours of surgery (and all that goes with that), plus:

- removal of 2 catheters on Saturday

- removal of 2 IV lines (one in each hand) on Saturday

- disconnecting from fluids yesterday and maintaining her own hydration

- moved quickly from NPO (no food/drink), to a clear liquid diet yesterday, then to a regular diet today (she's eating a loaded baked potato right now!)

- her epidural was removed today, which administered continuous pain medication, and she has be able to maintain pain control with oral medication

These are all huge wins!

Thank you for the support near and afar...clearly the prayers are working!

What's Next:

Assuming we go home tomorrow, Caroline will relax and recover at home for the rest of the week.  We will go back and forth to the Vanderbilt Clinic all next week for a multitude of tests required for the next phase (high-dose chemo and stem cell transplant).  Some of the appointments include:

- EKG

- Echocardiogram

- Kidney Function Test (to determine the max amount of high-chemo her body can withstand)
- Hearing Test
- Various Ultrasounds

- General labs and various blood tests
- Radioactive Injection (which requires 2 days of prescription prep to protect her thyroid)
- Bone Marrow Biopsy - to see if there is still cancer in her bone marrow (at the last check, there was about 25%)

- And the biggest...the MIBG scan, which will show us how much, if any, active cancer cells are left in her body

Thank you for the visits this week, messages, meals, thoughts and prayers.  We are continuously amazed and humbled.  

Hope you're all having as great of a day as we are,

The Lantz Family

#carolinestrong

#ftgf

 

We were able to get outside for a few minutes to enjoy the Children's Garden and Koi Pond!