Day 1 of healing

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I have started and stopped this post several times. The words don’t seem to be coming. Today, Charlotte is beginning treatment. She is having surgery for port placement and a 4 location bone marrow biopsy. She will then be admitted to Duke Children’s to begin what we want to call day 1 of healing. The thing is...Charlotte is not sick.

Charlotte has never felt or looked better. Her cheeks are pink and her blue eyes twinkle with the sweetest and strongest spirit. Her hair, sun kissed and wind blown from a week at the beach. Her skin glowing. Her energy matched with her siblings and her friends as she keeps up with them all, step for step. Her imagination and spirit and body are STRONG. Even her exam and labs and other scan results look completely healthy. This spot in the femur looks contained but it’s not that simple with Neuroblastoma. A spot found (disease in her leg bone confirmed by MIBG and MRI) means there may be more cells lingering that are not able to be detected yet. We can’t watch and wait with her disease. We can’t let it spread and metastasize. She must fight again. She is starting from a place of health and strength. This is not the same fight she once had when she was sick and riddled with cancer. But this time, there is a different danger that lurk in our fears and this means a new prayers: we need her disease to respond to what we are about to throw at it. We cannot and will not repeat what she went through in the past. Whatever is left that is rearing its ugly head has survived all of that and is likely resistant to the treatment she has received. She will have chemo, radiation, and a different immunotherapy. We will get her clear again.

I will write more and share details of the treatment when I can. For now please pray for our girl who is and I quote “sad and scared.” Brian and I are suffering and in shock putting on our brave, confident, and strong face for our 3 children. Please God, help us, hear us, lead us❤️🌈



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