^i^ Landon D.
Illinois
February 14, 2007 - August 13, 2019
Diagnosis - Anaplastic Astrocytoma
Landon's Story
Landon was an active and overall wonderful kid! He loves all sports and ran track and cross country at school. He's silly, kind, caring and sweet. He loves mac n cheese and pizza, and from the minute he woke up, he was on the go!
Landon suffered a series of seizures back in March 2017. We were told that it was a fluke and was due to an unknown virus which caused swelling in his brain. On May 29th, he had more seizures that landed us back in the ICU. We made plans to see an Epilepsy specialist at the Cleveland Clinic on June 12th. On June 9th he had more seizures that sent us back to the ICU. He was airlifted to Ohio a few days later. After a 2 1/2 week stay and a brain biopsy, his doctors arrived at his diagnosis of Anaplastic Astrocytoma.
Landon's diagnosis shook us to our core. My otherwise happy 10 year old was diagnosed with an inoperable form of brain cancer. The diagnosis comes with an extremely poor and short life expectancy. The only hope was that chemo and radiation therapies would slow the growth of the tumor.
By December Landon had endured 5 MRIs, 2 intubations, numerous CT scans, countless blood draws, a brain biopsy, 30 treatments/6 weeks of radiation, 71 days of chemotherapy (with at least 210 days to go), 13 ambulance rides, 8 ER visits, and over 40 nights in the hospital. It would not end there.
For the last 8 months since we finished radiation, we have always been told Landon’s scans are stable, which means no new growth/involvement, yet no reduction. A little over a month ago, his MRI showed tumor growth and new areas of involvement. These changes are also in line with what I’ve been seeing for the last couple of months ... increased and harder to control seizures along with some mobility and cognitive issues. Treatment options at this stage of the game are not plentiful. And what is available to us has absolutely zero long term data as to its success or failure. To say that I was utterly devastated upon hearing this news is a gross understatement.
With the help of our amazing Lurie team, we sat down with Landon and explained the reason he no longer is on chemo is not because the cancer is gone, but because it stopped working how it needed to work. That we are all looking at what we may or may not try next. But most of all, our job is to make him as happy as we can. It's time to make memories.
"I cannot be happier or more thankful for this generous gift filled with so much love and hard work. Landon absolutely loves it! His love for dogs runs so very deep, so this is absolutely perfect. Your kindness will never be forgotten."
