Immunotherapy Round 6 Underway!

Caroline had her weekly clinic visit to check blood counts and they were good enough to move onto the 6th, and final, round of Immunotherapy! She will take oral medication twice a day for the next 2 weeks, and the final day of her Neuroblastoma Standard Treatment Protocol will be April 10th. She is scheduled to have CT and MIBG progress scans on Thursday (4/11) and we hope to get the results on Friday (4/12).  As always, we will update the blog with results asap.

Caroline is feeling energetic right now; she has been able to do schoolwork at home, as well as spend quality time with family and friends. We are still hopeful that she will be able to go to her elementary school sometime in late April!

We have had requests for #carolinestrong slouchy tank tops for summer, so we relaunched a brief campaign; click here if you would like to order those or the other t-shirts.

Thank you for all the continued prayers, support and well-wishes!

All the best,

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

HUGE Day

Monumental steps today!

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 

Vanderbilt Admission - Immunotherapy Round 5

Caroline was admitted this evening for Round 5 (of 6) of Immunotherapy. We are hopeful this will be her LAST inpatient admission for cancer treatment; her next round of Immunotherapy will take place at home (oral medication).  She will begin antibody therapy tomorrow morning, as well as get on a Dilaudid PCA 24/7 for pain management (pain is caused by the anti-body drug, Unituxin). We expect all the same side effects this round, as in the previous 4 rounds: high fever, extreme nerve pain, rash, loss of appetite, low oxygen levels, low blood pressure, nausea, diarrhea, etc.  It will be a rough little stretch, but we hope and pray it’s doing everything to get her to an NED (no evidence of disease) scan in April.

For those that have asked about #carolinestrong shirts, there is a batch going to print in 2 days: click here for the link.

As always, many thanks for the prayers and support!
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

HUGE thank you to Michelle Prichard for the awesome door sign and room decorations...she's decorated every.single.room for ALL of Caroline's inpatient stays!

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

Progress Scan Update / Path Forward

Today we met with Caroline’s oncology team to review the results of her most recent MIBG progress scan, which was completed yesterday. Reading the results of these scans is very subjective, but overall, the medical team feels positive about the findings. The Radiologist cannot definitively say that she has “no evidence of disease,” but they are pleased with the improvements on this scan relative to previous scans. There are no plans for a biopsy at this this time, or any additional scans, until after treatment. As parents, we still feel very anxious (and a little bummed!) that she didn’t get a clear “no evidence of disease” result...her body has fought so hard, and for so long, we just want this disease to be gone already! But, we’re extremely thankful the disease didn’t progress.

Caroline is still on the standard treatment protocol, so the next steps are:

• Round 5 of Immunotherapy (inpatient at the hospital)
• Central Line Removal (surgery)
• Round 6 of Immunotherapy (oral medication at home)

After Round 6 of Immunotherapy, Caroline will get progress scans again, and we're hoping she's eligible to enroll into a clinical trial that significantly decreases relapse rates, called DFMO. In order to qualify for this trial drug, she must have completed standard treatment protocol and also be NED (no evidence of disease) at that next scan.

Radiology prep for MIBG scan.

Driving herself back to MIBG scan.

As always, we appreciate your continued prayers and support during this long journey.

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Home...again...

Caroline has been able to remain fever-free for 24 hours, and her blood cultures showed no growth for anything specific, so she was able to be discharged today.  The IV antibiotics for 48 hours helped significantly, and we are all glad to be together, home, and hopefully able to catch up on rest!

Thanks for you for always keeping us in your prayers,
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Good luck tonight, Preds!

Admitted to Vandy for High Fever

After an unplanned visit to the outpatient clinic at Vanderbilt yesterday for high fever (103.7), we found ourselves back there again today.  Caroline's fever failed to break overnight, after 24 hours of Tylenol, and she was looking/feeling worse this morning, so we returned to clinic today for more tests.  After consulting with her medical team, and based on her risk factors, they decided that she needed to be admitted for at least 48 hours.  So far, they have tested for (and ruled out) the flu and strep, but they proactively put her on an IV antibiotic.  They will monitor her counts and fever over the next couple of days, and we are hoping that she can improve quickly and get home for the weekend!  Although this isn't really where we want to be, with her compromised immune system, it is better to play it safe than sorry, and make sure she isn't at risk of seizure or other issues that can accompany a high fever and virus.

So, tonight, we will spend another night eating dinner together as a family, on a plastic couch in a hospital room on 6A.  There really are no routine or easy days for us right now (Dad, Mom & C), and we know how hard this must be on Andrew.  We hate that he has to go through all the back and forth and uncertainty that has become our lives.  We hope he one day understands...and maybe one day we will understand all of this, too.

We will keep the blog updated as things progress this week.

Thanks for hanging in there with us along the long, long way.

The Lantz Family

#carolinestrong

#ftgf

Back Home!

Caroline was discharged from Vanderbilt today, after completing Part 2 of Round 4 of inpatient Immunotherapy treatment.  Other than some clinic appointments, she will now will have about 3 weeks to rest at home before going back inpatient for Round 5 of Immunotherapy.  She is doing well so far, and is weaning off pain meds, which are currently taken orally every 4 hours for stomach and leg pain (common side effect from the antibody infusion).  So far, there are no other visible side effects lingering from the weekend...prayers up and fingers crossed that this remains the case!!!

During Round 4 of Immunotherapy, she was able to get nearly 100% of the cancer-fighting antibody drug, Unituxin, and about 50% of the immune system booster infusion, IL-2.  Unfortunately, the combination of both drugs together was just too much on her body for all 4 days, so her team (including us) decided it was best to continue with just the antibody (Unituxin), and discontinue the IL-2, which is considered a lesser priority drug for this round.  This adjustment/discontinuation is not uncommon this late into immunotherapy; their bodies are weak and worn from 14 months of toxic treatment.  It was a hard decision, and not taken lightly, but luckily, her blood counts remained ok throughout the stay, and we were pleased with their explanation and quick reaction to adjust this round's protocol.

It's been a stressful, draining and exhausting couple of weeks, and we are all looking forward to spending quality family time together - under one roof - over the next few weeks!

THANK YOU for all the continued support and prayers!
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Packed up and heading out of 6A, with assistance from Mr. Seth! 

Hard Times - Immunotherapy Day 2

Caroline is now into Day 2, of Part 2, of Round 4 of Immunotherapy, and has really struggled with the side effects.  Fever, fluid retention, loss of appetite and severe mood swings have been present so far, but most notably (as pictured below), she had a severe reaction to the tandem infusions, which resulted in very bad skin hives/rash. As a result, her Oncology team decided to temporarily pause all treatment, in hopes the rash would subside...which it did...so they slowly restarted treatment again late this morning, after adding a Hydrocortisone shot and an increased dose of Benedryl to her pre-infusion meds regimen.  She is on quite a bit of scheduled medication around the clock, to keep the side effects manageable.  So far today, this approach has worked, and she will hopefully be moved back onto a full dose of IL-2 and Antibody over the next 24 hours.  We are praying hard for no more issues or pauses in treatment, and hoping she can finish this round on Monday as planned!

We will update the blog if there are more delays, otherwise we will update again next week when she is discharged and home.

Thank you for all the continued well wishes, prayers and UberEats gift cards you send our way.  They really help us get through these hospital stays and hard times!

Much appreciated!
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Round 4 Immunotherapy: Half-time!

Caroline is now home for a 48-hour planned break in between treatments for Round 4 of Immunotherapy.  She is resting comfortably after a relatively uneventful 5 day admission for the IL-2 infusion.  Her only notable side effects from Part 1 of this round were fever and diarrhea, which aren't bad, considering what she will be facing later this week during Unituxin/IL-2 combination infusion.

She will get re-admitted on Wednesday, and most likely need a blood transfusion before she starts Part 2 of Round 4 on Thursday morning, as a result of low hemoglobin levels.  Expected side effects once the tandem infusion begins are: extremely high fever, severe nerve pain (and generalized pain), itching, intense irritability/mood swings, low oxygen levels, diarrhea, nausea and loss of appetite.  We have gone through this tandem infusion round before (around Thanksgiving), and it truly is beyond hard and stressful to watch her body endure this much.

Please pray for her comfort during the remaining part of Round 4, as well as for the rest of our family as we watch her go through one of the worst weeks of her entire treatment protocol.

Thank you for your continued love and support these past 14 months; we're so grateful!
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Round 4 Immunotherapy - Inpatient Admission

After enjoying a couple weeks of "normalcy" at home, Caroline was admitted to the 6A-floor at Vanderbilt this evening for Part 1 (of 2) of Round 4 (of 6) of Immunotherapy treatment.  Treatment will begin in the morning, and she will be once again be on various drugs for nerve pain and nausea throughout the stay.

Assuming no set backs, and all goes as planned, her next 2 weeks will look like this:

• 5 night inpatient stay for IL-2 Drug (which is used to stimulate the body's immune system)
• 2 night break (rest at home!)
• 5 night inpatient stay for combination of IL-2 Drug and Unituxin Antibody (drug used to target Neuroblastoma cells) 

We expect a very difficult upcoming couple of weeks for Caroline...her body is really worn down and tired from the last 14 months of super intense treatment.  Please pray for her comfort, and for minimal side effects over the next 2 weeks.

Thank you for all the support!!!
The Lantz Family
#ftgf 

#carolinestrong

Home / Next Steps

Caroline experienced significant improvement overnight with her oxygen levels, and her lungs were clear when she woke up, so we were able to be discharged this afternoon.  The year is already off to a great start!

Next steps: Caroline has clinic appointments, daily shots and numerous oral medications between now and her next admission for Round 4 of Immunotherapy, which is scheduled for mid-January.  As always, we will keep you posted on this blog.  Thank you so, so much for the continued thoughts and prayers.  Happy 2019!

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

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.

Rough Week

Caroline is on the tail end of round 2, part 2, of Immunotherapy...the nurses have hung the last couple infusion bags, and everything should be complete by tomorrow.  It's been a really, really, really rough week on her body - probably one of the hardest since she's been diagnosed.  She has had all of the predicted side effects: nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, severe nerve pain, generalized pain, fluid retention, rash/itching, low blood pressure, low oxygen saturation, and extremely high fevers.  Some of her fevers have been so high they didn't even register on the thermometer, which goes up to 105 degrees!  While all of these are considered "normal" side effects for this treatment, it is still very scary and upsetting to watch.  Luckily, the team at Vanderbilt has been able to make Caroline as comfortable as possible, and she's even been able to "rest" a little.  We are hoping to head home this weekend.  As you can (or maybe cannot) imagine, this is mentally exhausting and draining for all of us, so thank you for the prayers for comfort this week, we really appreciate each and every one.

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Jekyll and Hyde

Yikes!  Well, week 2 of round 2 of the anti-body Immuotherapy is officially underway, and Caroline's temperament and comfort level did a complete 180 since beginning the IV infusions of Unituxin, IL-2 and Dilaudid this morning.  She will receive this infusions all week, with the Unituxin running for 20 hours per day, and the IL-2 running 24 hours per day.  We are hoping to have the infusions completed on Saturday, and get discharged on Saturday or Sunday.  This will be the hardest week of Immunotherapy to date, and we expect many side effects throughout the week, including: high fever, extreme nerve pain (and generalized pain), itching, severe irritability/mood swings, low oxygen levels, nausea and loss of appetite.  It is beyond hard and stressful to watch her endure this much.

Please pray for her comfort...and our sanity this week!!!

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Home for 48 Hours ~ Snowman 365

Caroline was discharged today after a relatively uneventful week of inpatient admission for her IL-2 infusion.  Her only side effects this week were: mid-grade fever, nausea and some pain/discomfort, all of which were managed effectively by medication.  She was feeling so well today that she was playing football for a few minutes this afternoon with her brother and friends in our yard!

We will be re-admitted in 2 days (Monday) for a much harder tandem round of Unituxin and IL-2 infusions (click here if you want to learn more about the antibody and side effects).  We expect this coming week to be very difficult on her body; it's apparently harder than the first round and she will again need to be on a Dilaudid pain pump for the entire week-long stay.

Today, November 24th, marks the 1 year date since Caroline was officially diagnosed at Vanderbilt, with Stage 4 High-Risk Neuroblastoma.  We are now one year into a (minimum) 17-month treatment protocol, and are very grateful that Caroline has responded relatively well, so far, to a very aggressive cancer that has an overall survival rate of around 35% for her diagnosis.  We continue to pray that this last part of standard treatment, Immunotherapy, knocks out the rest of the active cancer in her body.  After discharge today, we went back to the exact spot where Caroline wanted her picture taken 1 year ago, as we were leaving the hospital after just learning about her diagnosis (she did not know at this point)...Frosty and Caroline are still standing strong together!

Thank you, again, to all of our friends, friends-of-friends, family, and even strangers, who continue to support our family through this long, hard journey against a very nasty cancer,  The meals, donations, prayers and words of encouragement have been and absolute blessings during a very unstable time in our lives.  It truly has been "the best of times, and the worst of times."

And yes, we did eat Thanksgiving together as a family, albeit on top of the Wilson's Yeti cooler in the corner of a hospital room! Very thankful for the Olivos/Hagues/Stanfords, who went out of their way to make us homemade food on Thursday...it was much better than eating at Subway (no offense Brent), which was the only place open at Vandy that day!

Much Love!
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Same snowman, same strong girl!

A commemoration pie (homemade by Andrew!), and a video message from Caroline...

Thanksgiving Dinner

"Nurse mommy" changing Caroline's central line dressing.

Sending out some positive vibes!!!

1 Year Ago Today

One year ago today, Mark joined Caroline at the Academy of McKay's Mill for a Thanksgiving celebration lunch.  She was in a great mood - sharing in the excitement and running around with all of her school friends!  Just 2 short hours after the picture below was taken, we received a call from the school that Caroline was screaming in pain and inconsolable.  He immediately went back to the school, picked her up, and took her to the local Urgent Care...what happened over the course of the next 3 days changed our lives forever.

The anticipation of this week, and the one year mark, has been gravely hanging over our heads for a little while. Today is a very difficult day for us emotionally, but we love this kid as much as anyone can love anyone or anything, and we just wanted to share with everyone that we are so thankful, and blessed that she was given to us.  WE ARE SO VERY PROUD OF HER for her amazing, fighting spirit!  We love you, Caroline.

Such Proud Parents,
Mark and Margaret
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Tuesday before Thanksgiving...2017 and 2018.

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