Charlotte's Journey

6 years ago today  Posing during clinic today Charlotte sharing her news Just when we thought the news couldn’t get any better, village.  1. Charlotte’s scans are clear! 2 years off treatment for relapse and she’s still clear. This is a huge milestone! 2. Both Duke and MSK have approved Charlotte to move out to 6 month scanning intervals for the next couple years. This is a huge milestone for her specific Neuroblastoma diagnosis (remembering she was placed in the highest risk stratus and stage IV with a specific gene detected in her tumor that they shared is associated with the poorest outcomes, and with a relapse giving her an even worse prognosis but of course we never liked talking much about that). Take that cancer! As I shared, this is the week Charlotte was diagnosed 6 years ago. This picture below we took 6 years ago this morning as we got ready to send her in for her tumor and bone marrow biopsy and central line surgery placement. She would start chemotherapy tomorrow ...

  It's scan week AND the anniversary week of her diagnosis, village. Here is a special video from Charlotte. It was this exact week 6 years ago, after being admitted to the pediatric oncology unit at Duke, that Brian and I received our first gift of many from a special charity. However, they had formed their charity to help families like ours in memory of their daughter who had lost her battle with cancer. I remember looking directly at Brian, anguished and scared beyond belief, but I said these exact words "We will do something like this one day but we will do this WITH Charlotte because she is going to survive this. And will will give back and help others somehow and some way not to honor her memory, but along side of her and show the hope that we need to see right now ." I said that because I needed to believe that. It was the only fuel I could find to get us through those days and the hundreds that followed. And here she is. Right next to me making a thank you video f...