Giving Back - Help Caroline's Team WIN!!!

Hello friends and family!

Caroline is back in school, playing YMCA soccer, starting Daisy Scouts, faithfully cheering on her brother (who is playing multiple sports!), and overall doing well.  Her next round of progress scans are scheduled for early October; we will update the blog with results.

With standard treatment behind us, our family has spent a lot of our free time giving back to the pediatric oncology community, and especially at Vanderbilt.  Most recently, Caroline was asked to participate in the Rascal Flatts Celebrity Golf Classic!  Please join us in donating to Team Caroline & Levi for Vanderbilt’s fundraising drive.  Let’s beat the other team and win this one!

Click here to DONATE!

Thank you for supporting our family, and pediatric cancer research/awareness!

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Predators 365 Foundation / Clinic Update

Caroline had a weekly clinic visit today for blood work and an overall check up.  Her numbers were mostly good, but her ANC keeps dropping, and is a little lower then we would like at this point.  The low number could be registering because of a common cold, or even side effects of the oral medications she is currently taking as the last portion of Round 5 (of 6) of Immunotherapy.  For now she will continue weekly check-ups until her progress scans are scheduled in mid April.

We want to say thank you to Pekka Rinne, The Nashville Predators, and Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, for always doing so much to support children who are in treatment!  We got to attend a Preds game last night in one of the suites sponsored by Pekka Rinne...who helped with an awesome Preds win in an OT shootout!  After the game, we were invited to go down to the locker room area and meet with some players.  It was so awesome to be able to congratulate and thank them for all they do for the community!  We are very grateful that they take the time to give back so graciously, especially after every one of these physically exhausting NHL games!

Chugging ahead,
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

 GO PREDS!

 Superstar Goalie - Pekka Rinne!

Fun visit with Ms. Kristen and Ms. Rhonda

Singing for Caroline - A Songwriters' Night

We were blessed and humbled to attend a very special songwriters' night to celebrate Caroline, that was coordinated and produced by some very special friends of ours, Brooke and Shane Minor. Thank you to the entire Minor family, and all of the talented artists that gave their time to honor our family: Scotty Emerick, Jonathon Singleton, Shane Minor, Drake White and Luke Bryan. The music was amazing and Caroline had a great time singing along all night!

Big shout out to Storme Warren for flawlessly hosting the entire event...the turnout was amazing and we are so very grateful to everyone that showed up to support our family!!!

With full hearts,

The Lantz Family

#carolinestrong

#ftgf

"Mr. Shane," Jonathan Singleton and Scotty Emerick

Caroline and "Mr. Luke"

Singing "Story" with Drake White

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.

Immunotherapy Round 2 ~ CMAs w/ Maddie and Tae ~ FTGF!

Today we were admitted to Vanderbilt for Round 2 - part one of Immunotherapy (part two begins next week).  This week's treatment drug is called IL-2, and it is used to boost Caroline's immune system, white blood cell count, and ideally assist the antibody drug (Unituxin) to fight the Neuroblastoma cancer cells in her body.  The IL-2 infusion will run 24/7, for 4 days straight, and begins tomorrow morning.  Caroline will receive "pre-meds" in anticipation of potential allergic reactions and high fevers (common with this drug), as well as pain management meds while the infusion runs.  Possible side effects from this week's treatment are: high fever, pain/discomfort, swelling, nausea, low blood pressure and general flu-like symptoms. 

Last week, Caroline got to attend THREE very, very special events:

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Country Music duo Maddie and Tae surprised Caroline and Andrew with "real" signed guitars and VIP tickets to the CMA awards for our entire family!  It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Caroline (and our whole family), and we are very grateful to everyone that helped make it happen.  Luckily, Caroline was feeling like herself that day, which made it even better!  Special thanks to the following amazing folks that participated in pampering Caroline and our crew for the day: Vanderbilt Children's Child Life Team, Maddie and Tae, Aflac, ABC, CMAs, the awesome makeup and wardrobe professionals, and the super generous production and promotion companies...they all made us feel like friends, not just clients or a charity project.

Saturday morning, Caroline was able to join Margaret for a Yoga workout fundraiser that our friend Mary Claire organized to support our family.  The turnout was great for both the Boot Camp and Yoga class.  We are so grateful to everyone that participated and donated to the amazing morning of fun and sweat!

Saturday night, Caroline attended a special pre-show meet and greet with Canadian rock legend, Rik Emmett, who wrote her favorite cancer fight song..."Fight The Good Fight!"  He was very gracious to take time away from his warm-up routine and dinner to spend time with Caroline.  Big thanks to Boston Dan, Rik, Dave Dunlop, and the entire team for making that happen!

We continue to be humbled by the generosity and kindness we've seen throughout this journey.

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Back again!

Maddie and Tae

Mary Claire and Lauren

Rik Emmitt

Autumn Jones' Fundraiser for Caroline / Clinic Visit Update

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Caroline STRONG fundraiser last night!  We had a great turnout, and we were truly blown away by the love and support from all of our Franklin-area friends and neighbors.  Caroline had a wonderful time seeing so many of her buddies, including her new pal, the Predators mascot, Gnash (major props Brian and Lincoln!). 

An extra special thank you to Autumn Jones for creating and organizing the entire event!  She put a ton of work and effort into this and we are beyond grateful for her dedication from start to finish.  Autumn, you rock and we love you! (*Fun fact: Autumn hosted Margaret's baby shower for Caroline back in 2013*). 

We also want to give a shout out to Autumn's VP's of Party-Planning, Cris Smith and Elizabeth Regas, and to all of the other folks that worked the raffles, check-in, kids' tables, grills (pretty much all the Jeffs in the VOC), DJ booth, dance judges, auctioneers, etc...we appreciate every one of the volunteers.  It was a night we will remember forever!  Our hearts are full and y'all are amazing!

Caroline visited the VUMC outpatient clinic today for her regular check-up, and (finally!) got mostly positive news.  Her platelets, white blood cells, and ANC (immune system) counts were all strong!!!  However, she did require a red blood cell transfusion as a result of low hemoglobin numbers. The doctors seem pleased with her recovery progress, so as of now, we are on track to start Round 2 of High-Dose Chemo / Stem Cell Transplant on July 16th.  Please continue to pray that Caroline stays healthy (and happy) over the next few weeks to avoid any delays in the treatment protocol/timeline!

As parents, we are very sad many days, really do struggle to get through the day, but you folks help keep us moving forward.  So, once again, thank you for all of the love, support, prayers, and well-wishes from near and far.  We could not do this without our incredible, ongoing support system.

Team Lantz

#carolinestrong
#ftgf

First time on a swing in almost 2 months!

FREEZE Dance!

Meeting Gnash!

Sporting her Gnash gear for clinic...

Cracking herself up while getting her blood transfusion - LOL!

Rally on the Runway

Last night was an amazing, fun, emotional event!  Caroline shined on the runway!  We are very thankful we were invited to participate in the Rally Foundation Fundraiser.  Thank you to everyone who participated - friends, supporters and volunteers - it seemed to be a huge success!

 

Caroline's escort for the evening was Mr. David King, a Defensive End for the Tennessee Titans! 

Tennessee Titans escorts and the models!

Caroline and her friend, Sadie, who battled Neuroblastoma when she was a baby.

Caroline's runway debut - sassy swagger!

So touched that Carmen and Shannon volunteered - it was great to have them there!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Pre-K Graduation / Parlour 3 / Nashville Zoo

Just wanted to share some random updates from the last few days...we've certainly been enjoying our time together while Caroline is feeling ok!

Today, Caroline went to get her preschool "Graduation" picture taken.  We were so touched to be invited back to The Academy of McKay's Mill for this very special day!  Caroline attended the school full-time since she was 16 weeks old, but wasn't able to return once she was diagnosed.  We haven't been there since November, and it was (unexpectedly) a very emotional morning for us...seeing all of the friends she's grown up with (they look so much bigger!)...all of the teachers that loved on her for so many years...just being somewhere that reminded us of our "old" life and daily routine.  We are so, so thankful that Caroline will now have a preschool "graduation" picture to put next to Andrew's; it was something we thought she would miss out on.

Yesterday, Caroline and Margaret were treated to a "Day of Beauty" at Parlour 3 Salon, to prepare for the Rally on the Runway event this coming Thursday (you can read more about the event here).  A driver picked them up, and even had flowers for Caroline (shout out, Mr. Kemper!).  They arrived to a red carpet and a whole welcoming committee...so fancy!  They met the other "runway models" and their mothers, as well as many of the Rally Foundation volunteers...very inspiring.  Caroline got her make-up done, ate lunch and made a craft to give to the Titans player that walks her down the runway.  They even went home with a cool swag bag!  We are really looking forward to Thursday, and feel very lucky to be a part of such an amazing Foundation.

Last Friday, Caroline and Margaret went to the Nashville Zoo.  She LOVED it!  It felt great to walk around in the fresh air and check out all of the animals.  We're trying to squeeze in as much as we can before surgery next week!

Thank you for your continued support for our family - you're all still helping to hold us up and push us through. 

Much appreciation -
Team Lantz
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Prayers for CT Scan Tomorrow / Rally for the Runway

Caroline is scheduled for her CT scan tomorrow, which we hope will confirm that her tumor has shrunk enough to be operable, and she can move forward with the resection surgery later this month.  The surgeon will review the scan and make the decision by the end of the week; we will keep everyone updated.  In the meantime, please continue to pray that her tumor has shrunk enough for surgery, so we can move onto the next step in the process ASAP!

In other news, Caroline was asked to be a runway model for "Rally on the Runway" on April 19th.  She will be escorted down the catwalk by Tennessee Titans players!  The event is a major fundraiser for the Rally Foundation, which raises awareness and funds for pediatric cancer, including grants that go directly to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.  We would love to see our local friends come out to watch Caroline's "modeling" debut, as well as support an amazing foundation.

You can purchase tickets by clicking here.

You can see Caroline's "Rally Kid" profile by clicking here.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for our family!

Love,
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Caroline and her buddy, Tex!

Play date with Milo at Ms. Hilary's!

Learning how to make pasta at Kathleen and Mark's house!

We met up with Rob and Jennifer at the Preds game, and they were able to sneak Caroline in line with them to get a picture with the President's Trophy! (Thank you, Ginsbergs!)

Waiting outside the Preds locker room to meet the players and get their jerseys signed!