#carolinestrong: soldiers

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Progress Update

Caroline has incrementally started to recover from her high-dose chemo (which ended on 7/19). She is starting to sit up in the bed/chair, is doing some music and art activities, and she is talking again! She was able to get off oxygen, and has been weaning off her IV nutrition, and transitioning to formula feeds through her NG tube (she still is not eating solid foods, but that will come in time). She also has not had a fever in the last 48 hours, and she has reduced the number of pushes on her pain medicine button (self-weaning), which is also very promising! We are hopeful that this progress continues. Caroline's white blood cell count/ANC (aka: immune system) is starting to appear, so we're hopeful she's turned the corner and is on the rebound!

Thank you for the continued prayers and support,
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Finally sitting up on Tuesday morning!

Healing rest.

Reunited with Andrew on Sunday (7/29) - they were both so happy!

Nona and Papa are here for a week!

She practically launched out of bed when she saw Papa!

Monday, May 7, 2018

Information Overload: Prepping for High-Dose Chemo and Stem Cell Transplant

Today was a busy and tough day for all of us: back-to-back appointments from 8am-4pm, and a day full of listening to info that we're still processing hours later. We met with Caroline’s transplant team to discuss what’s on the horizon for the next week, sign consent forms, ask a laundry list of questions about the high-dose chemo/stem cell transplant (and the side effects), and get a general idea of what to expect during our extended stay. Although we knew some information about high-dose chemo and the stem cell transplant process, this was the first time we heard it directly in relation to Caroline's treatment. It's absolutely gut-wrenching to hear what she's about to endure. The side effects of her forthcoming treatment are: mouth sores, mucositis (potentially through her entire GI tract), high fever, infection, liver and kidney issues, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, etc. High-dose chemotherapy is similar to other 5 rounds of chemo she's had, only extremely amplified (hence the name and more extreme side effects). We will post more info on Caroline's exact schedule later in the week, but as of now, she is scheduled to start the process on Monday, May 14th.

Caroline's appointments today included:

Kidney function testing, which included a radioactive injection, as well as 5 separate blood draws/tests, to ensure Caroline’s liver will be able to tolerate the high-dose chemo, and to what degree
2 urine tests
RVP Nasal Swab (test came back negative for viruses - yay!)
EKG
Echocardiogram
Hearing Test (one of the many side effects of the chemo she's received is hearing loss...as of her check-up today, she does not have any hearing loss - another YAY!)
Weekly Hickman line dressing change, including daily line flush

MORE Appointments this week:

Wednesday:

- Liquid radioactive injection of MIBG for the MIBG Scan (requires 3 days of drops prior to protect Caroline's thyroid)

Thursday:

- MIBG Scan (will tell us if/where/how much of her cancer remains)

- Bone Marrow Biopsy (at last check, her bone marrow was comprised of approximately 25% cancer cells...we are hoping for zero!)

***We will not know the results of either the scan or the biopsy for at least 24-48 hours***

Friday:

- Final appointment with the transplant team prior to admission on Monday

Please keep those prayers coming! What we're about to face sounds like hell-on-earth, and so far, your thoughts, prayers, love, and support have gotten us through.

Thank you, thank you!

The Lantz Family

#carolinestrong

#ftgf