***please read update below***
Thank you for supporting Olivia and the more than 300,000 kids worldwide who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. By sharing the gifts of your time, talent and money with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, you're supporting research to give all kids with cancer a better chance for a cure.
Olivia was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma in October of 2016. Her tumor was found when she went to the ER for a suspected appendicitis. Thanks to a diligent ultrasound technician who scanned higher than she needed, they found her main tumor on her adrenal gland. She was completely asymptomatic & without that lucky scan who knows how long this tumor would have gone undetected. We soon learned that she had additional smaller spots on her pelvis, hip and lower spine.Sence then Livy has undergone 5 rounds of chemo at Connecticut Children's Medical Center. She has had countless scans and bone marrow samples taken, surgery to place a port line and to remove one of her overies to be frozen for later use because the chemo will most likely leave her infertal. She also had her main tumor successfully removed in an 8 hour operation. She has also already donated her own bone marrow to herself at The Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. We will be traveling there in a month for back to back Stem Cell Transplants as she fights to rid her body of this ugly cancer. We've also spent countless weeks at CCMC for low blood counts and fevers in between rounds of chemo.Cancer sucks, there's just no other way to put it. It affects not only the child being treated, but their entire family as well. We need more research into childrens cancers and how to better treat them. No one should have to watch their child suffer from all the toxic chemo we pump into them trying to save their lives!! There has to be a better way and without more research into childrens cancers we won't find one. So, from the Family of Olivia we would like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who makes the effort to help support funding for more and better research!! Thank you for your support no matter how big or small... It all adds up and all of our kids with cancer will benefit
***UPDATE***
On May 31st 2017 our sweet Livy Lou gained her wings at her home away from home Connecticut Children's Medical Center. She went to Boston Children's hospital on March 6th to begin her first of 2 Stem Cell Transplant. She developed Leaky Capillary Syndrome of unknown orgin(most likely caused by the massive chemo) and was on a respirator for 3 weeks. She had altered white matter of the brain, most likely caused by the massive chemo. She fought hard and was finally stable enough to transfer back to CCMC. She continued to fight hard with physical, occupational and speach therapy. Then she once again started retaining fluid like she did with the leaky capillary syndrome in Boston. This time they were unable to successfully get her on the ventilator.
She went into stem cell transplant with no evidence of active desease. She was dancing and singing and smiling. She was completing protocol for Neuroblastoma to help prevent relapse. She never came home :( She didn't die from her cancer, she died from the treatment. Thus is why funding for new treatments is SOO IMPORTANT!!! No child should die from the treatment ment to save them. We need to do better for all these kids.
My sweet girl will forever be missed.
