Prince Carter's MAW Disney Cruise PTR

[Hschlink]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first attempt at a PTR! I only hope that I’m entertaining you as much as some of the others have entertained me! Let me also say this will be our family’s first Disney cruise (my husband & I cruised on our honeymoon in 2002)

The Cast:

Yours Truly (Holly, 27 years old)
Unfortunately I suffer from OCP or Obsessive Compulsive Planning

DH (Kyle, 28 years old)
More of a “fly by the seat of his pants” type.

DS (Carter, 3 years old)
His talents include wrestling, eating like a piggy, and kickin’ cancer’s butt

DD (Breah, 3 years old)
Even though she has a twin brother she is the one in charge…aka Drama Queen

I should first start out with a little background on our family. In May of 2007 Carter was diagnosed with a Wilms’ tumor…a cancerous tumor of the kidney. Since then he has gone through 3 surgeries, 6 months of chemo, and too many ER and doctor appointments to count! Almost a year to the day that we found out Carter had cancer we found out that the Make-A-Wish organization of Minnesota would be granting Carter his Disney cruise wish!! I was so excited for him I could hardly stand it!

Some of our cruise details are: 4-nights on the Wonder from Jan. 11-15th. We are flying out of Minneapolis the day before and will be staying at the Hyatt at the Orlando airport.

I’ll be posting some of my caringbridge journal entries the next few weeks leading up to the cruise so you can read a little bit about our family and what Carter has had to go through since May of 2007. Thanks, and hope you enjoy!

Holly

 

[iu97alum]

YEA! I Found it!! Can't wait to hear more! What a great start for your PTR!!!! We can be OCPers together!

 

[MagicMe]

Your twins are beautiful and what a little trooper. I'm sure the entire family definitely deserves this break! You are going to love it!!!!

 

[Tarabra]

What gorgeous kids you have! I'm saying a little prayer for Carter. I know the Disney cruise will lift everyone's spirits.

 

[wuv tigger]

Your kiddos BEAUTIFUL!!

wuv tigger

 

[starrzone]

Welcome to the DIS! I can't wait to hear all about your family's adventures. Your kids are so sweet; your son looks like quite the little trooper .

 

[ShawnaH]

Your children are adorable!

 

[Magic3forme]

Your kids are adorable!

 

[Hschlink]

Thanks for all the comments!!

May 23rd, 2007
Well, Carter's surgery was a success. Thank God we had one of the best pediatric surgeons (Dr. Moir) and we were at one of the best medical facilities in the US (Mayo Clinic).

Dr. Moir said that his surgery couldn’t have gone any better! They were able to remove the tumor and left kidney with out any problems and with minimal blood loss.

We spent the first night after surgery in the PICU. He seemed pretty comfy, but was also on a lot of pain medications!! I really can’t say enough good things about the nurses there. They not only took care of our baby, but they also took good care of us!!!

Carter was doing so well today that they moved us back to the regular pediatric floor by 10 am this morning. They also removed some of the lines from his hands and legs so he would be more comfortable.

He slept most of the day and when he was awake he would usually lay there and stare at you with his beautiful blue eyes.
We are expecting the pathology reports back from the doctor sometime tonight. That will be able to tell us what stage the cancer is at and what the next treatment will be.

Stay tuned….

 

[Tink rules]

Looking forwards to hearing more!!!

 

[Hschlink]

May 24th, 2007

I have another "Good News" update! Kyle and I found out today that all of Carter's lymph nodes came back negative for cancer!

That means Carter's tumor is a stage 2 and he will not need radiation! He will have to start chemo in a few weeks and I'll have more info about that after we meet with his oncologist.

He gets a little better every day and he even laughed at me today! Stay tuned...I'll have more updates!

 

[nikkistevej]

Your kids are beautiful!!! I hope Carter has a speedy recovery- good luck through all of the chemo.Best wishes for you and your family.

 

[iu97alum]

May 24th, 2007

I have another "Good News" update! Kyle and I found out today that all of Carter's lymph nodes came back negative for cancer!

That means Carter's tumor is a stage 2 and he will not need radiation! He will have to start chemo in a few weeks and I'll have more info about that after we meet with his oncologist.

He gets a little better every day and he even laughed at me today! Stay tuned...I'll have more updates!

Wasn't that the best feeling hearing no cancer in the Lymph nodes???

 

[vanessa3198]

Soooo happy to hear the good news!!
Your children are absolutley GORGEOUS!
I hope you guys have a great time on your vacation! My family and I will be going on our first Disney Cruise a month after yours and I hear from all the awesome DIS people that there's nothing like a Disney Cruise to brighten your day!
Best wishes to you and your family!

 

[SavoryMom]

Your story has touched me deeply. Being the mom of my own 5 year old prince Carter I can't even imagine what you must be feeling or going through. Your little boy is an inspiration to us all. He is a strong little boy that will be around for many years to come! The news you have received couldn't be any better. I am sure I speak for us all on this board when I say I am sending all the positive thoughts that I can to little Carter and your family. This Disney Cruise will work miracles on your spirits. Where else in the world can you go where the little kiddies get to play mad science with Stitch or "pass the present" with Goofy. Have a wonderful vacation. You all deserve every moment of magic that is coming your way.

 

[Hschlink]

May 25th, 2007

I've got more good news today. Carter gets to go home from the hospital tomorrow!! I was a little worried about when they would let us go home because he still needed to get up and walk around and as of this morning he hadn't. Well, he was at the hospital with daddy and they went to visit the play room. Kyle said that as soon as he let him down he ran over to the toys...so I think he might have been milking it!

 

[iu97alum]

Funny! Emy was the same way! Once she knew if she got up and walked around she could get to the playroom, she was zipping right along! Incentives I guess work!

 

[jenny105]

You're kids are so CUTE! I'll be following along

 

[Hschlink]

June 1, 2007

Hello,

Another update for you all…Kyle and I met with the Oncologist this afternoon to talk about Carter’s chemo treatments. Here is what we found out:
Carter has surgery on Monday morning to insert his port-a-cath (type of device for intravenous access in patients who require frequent or continuous administration of intravenous substances). This is a minor surgery and Carter will be able to go home with us the same day. His first series of 19 treatments will begin on Tuesday. He will have treatment once a week if his white blood cell count is high enough. If it’s not we may need to skip a week thus making the length of chemo longer. Some other good news we found out today, Carter will not have to stay overnight in the hospital for his treatments as long as he is healthy!! We do need to monitor his health very closely as he will be more susceptible to illness =(

That’s all for now…I’ll update you again when Carter has his first chemo treatment…kiss his cute blonde hair goodbye =(

 

[Hschlink]

June 5th, 2007

Hi,

What a day!! We left home at 7:30 a.m. and didn’t get back until almost 7 p.m.! We had a chest x-ray, an ultrasound, a blood test, a urine analysis, a meeting with the oncologist, and his first chemo treatment! I would say that out of all the tests the chemo was the easiest!! The chemo center at Mayo was excellent!! We got our own room with a TV and they had snacks and juice for Carter so he could eat while he got his treatment. And the nurses there were exceptional…very, very nice!

Carter will get chemo treatments every Tuesday if his white blood cells are high enough…if not, we wait until they are!! One of the biggest things we have to worry about is Carter getting sick, so please if you visit him…wash your hands first =) The drs said that is the #1 thing you can do to prevent from spreading germs!! So I stocked piled antibacterial soap!!