Still Inpatient / NYE 2018-9

We are ending 2018 where we started it: on 6A...the pediatric oncology wing at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. Although we certainly would rather be at home, we are glad Caroline is getting the care she needs from the amazingly compassionate team here.  We are very grateful for all they have done for our family this year!

As of this morning, Caroline has successfully completed Round 3 of Immunotherapy. She is still dealing with the nasty cough/congestion viral sickness that is going around, and as a result, her oxygen levels are not where they need to be for a safe hospital discharge today. Her right lung has a little fluid so they will continue to monitor that overnight and if she still has trouble maintaining oxygen levels in room air, they will X-ray her chest again in the morning and re-evaluate.

Wishing all of our family and friends a blessed and Happy New Year - please be safe!

Caroline will still be able to celebrate NYE with her 2019 glasses and party blowers when she wakes up from her late nap!

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Admission for Round 3 of Immunotherapy / Christmas Joy

Caroline was admitted today for Round 3 of Immunotherapy.  Starting tomorrow morning, she will receive a 20-hour per day infusion of Unituxin Antibody, as well as a Dilaudid PCA for pain management during the entire treatment, which is scheduled to end on Monday.  Once again, we expect significant side effects, including: high fever, low oxygen levels, extreme nerve pain, nausea, diarrhea, rash and low blood pressure.  Watching her go through this part of treatment is not easy for us, but we hope it's all working to destroy the remaining Neuroblastoma tumor in her abdomen, as well as any free-floating cancer cells.

Like many folks this time of year, Caroline is fighting off some kind of virus, with a particularly bad-sounding cough.  Being immuno-suppressed makes it more difficult for her to fight any type of virus, so the medical team will be keeping an extra eye on her cough/congestion this week.

Caroline is on her last day of the antibiotic she's been taking 4x/day for the last 3 weeks for her C-Diff infection; she will be retested for C-Diff again later this week.

Last year we spent Christmas in the hospital, and this year we were fortunate enough to be able to spend it quietly at home.  Huge shout-out to our friend, Farrah and her "Friends of Caroline," who helped us coordinate gifting Christmas cash to all 19 Pediatric Oncology families that spent Christmas Day in the hospital.  We are very grateful for their generous hearts, and we know first-hand that many of the families were overcome with joy when those cards and blessings were delivered to their hospital rooms on Christmas day!  We hope we can build on this as one of the ways we give back, and make it an annual tradition.

Thank you for all the prayers and Christmas wishes sent our way; we truly appreciate each and every one of you!

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

PS: As you can see in the pics below, Caroline had a fun Christmas week of play dates with her friends and family!

Recovering / Break Until Dec. 26th

Caroline is finally recovering from a very challenging late November and early December.  She is starting to eat better, and is getting her energy back a little bit more each day.  She is still on a 4x/day antibiotic medication for her intestinal infection, which will hopefully get resolved by her next admission.

Thankfully, she has still been able to enjoy some fun holiday activities this week: baking with friends, a fun visit with Santa, a drive-thru Christmas lights display, making gingerbread houses while on FaceTime with her Baltimore family, a playdate in the yard, and some long overdue homeschool work with Ms. Elise!  Caroline was super excited that her hair has grown out just long enough to clip in a bow!  When she was first diagnosed and started losing her hair, she wanted us to hide all of her bows because she said it made her sad to see them...but this week she pulled them all out and has been having fun trying them all on again!

Although we are both still feeling a heightened sense of anxiety right now, we are extra grateful for this time at home with family.  Barring any setbacks, we should be home until December 26th, when she's scheduled to be admitted for Round 3 of Immunotherapy.

Thank you for keeping our family in your prayers this Holiday Season!

Merry Christmas!

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

C Diff / Caroline's Story

Caroline has had an especially hard time bouncing back from Round 2 of Immunotherapy.  In addition to recovering from the numerous side effects, she ended up getting C Diff (again, or maybe it never went away?).  She spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the clinic for labs/panel tests, an x-ray, and lots and lots of fluids.  The C Diff medicine seems to be kicking in, and she has been acting a little more like herself.

If you would like to hear Caroline's diagnosis story and treatment journey (so far), tune into 107.5 The River (also available on I Heart Radio if you're not local) tomorrow at 11am CST.  We will be live on the radio to tell her story, hopefully creating awareness and raising money for the place that is trying to save our daughter's life.  We love Vanderbilt so much, and are honored they asked us to participate.  You can listen online by clicking here; we hope you tune in!

Thank you for your continued prayers through this extra-difficult few weeks.

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Prayers for Finn's family / Caroline is home

Caroline was discharged on Saturday afternoon from her week-long inpatient stay for round 2 of Immunotherapy.  She is mostly sleeping/resting while she recovers at home this week, with a scheduled return visit Monday for an outpatient clinic visit. We expect her to progressively feel  better each day this week, and hopefully back to her lively self by next weekend. Thank you for all the support during this very challenging week!

Today, our thoughts and prayers are with our Vanderbilt "6A" friend Finn and his family.  Finn passed away this morning at 6:44am, after a long, hard battle with cancer.  We can't imagine anything worse for a parent than losing a child.  Unfortunately, there are literally no words we can offer to his family to help mend their shattered hearts.

Pediatric cancer is severely under-funded, which significantly limits research that can be done to find cures for these innocent children.  In Finn's honor, we are making a donation to a team we follow closely that is doing amazing work to research and find options for the fight against pediatric cancer.  If you would also like to donate, you can do so by clicking here.

Cancer sucks.

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

 Caroline's final visit with Finn - 11/11/18.

Home and resting with her BFF.