Caroline was discharged today after finishing her 5th cycle (of 6) of Antibody Immunotherapy! This was her last inpatient round of treatment...hopefully forever. She also had surgery this morning to remove her Double-Lumen Hickman Central Line (heart bandage below in picture is where her line was connected). She's had a central line since November 30, 2017, so this is really exciting - she will finally be able to shower and swim again soon! This procedure was moved up a week, after they discovered a small hole in one of the lines over the weekend. Because Caroline received her last dose of intravenous chemo treatment this round, and will hopefully no longer need a central line, they went ahead and removed it while we were still admitted today, instead of repairing it, or having her come back next week to get it removed.
Remaining treatment protocol timeline as follows:
- Weekly outpatient Vanderbilt clinic visits for blood work/labs and check-ups
- Cycle 6 (an final) of Immunotherapy in March (oral medication at home)
- End of treatment CT and MIBG scans in mid-April
- DFMO clinical trial drug for 2 years (assuming No Evidence of Disease at end of treatment scan)
Huge shout out to the incredible staff at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, who have been so amazing to Caroline and our family throughout this process of inpatient stays. We appreciate all of you more than words can ever adequately express, and we are very grateful that we chose to stay local for her treatment plan. Many thanks to Dr. Maggie (surgeon) for taking such awesome care of Caroline today, on what we hope will be her final operation/procedure!
We will continue to keep the blog updated as we have new information or treatment results.
Tired, but happy and hopeful!
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf
Loading up car to come home from Vandy (hopefully the last time)
Heart bandage over Hickman line scar
Walking back from surgery
Pop-Pop heading home
Visit from 6A BFF Molly
Thanks for keeping us updated on Caroline. She is such a amazing child. Prayers for the family for continued healing.
ReplyDeleteSuch sweet pictures. So glad to hear this part of Caroline's treatment and journey is done. We pray with you in one accord for a complete healing in Caroline. God bless you and keep you in His healing hand.
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