Freddie's Fight Against Neuroblastoma

Fred was admitted mid-March for a fever, and was found to have positive blood cultures. We were discharged on March 17th with plans to continue IV antibiotics at home, but blood cultures drawn on the day of discharge popped up positive 3 days later. We were readmitted on March 20th to have his central line removed, and a new line was placed on March 26th. We enjoyed an amazing week at home before Freddie and I headed to Cincinnati for proton radiation!

Fred had his first of 12 radiation treatments on April 6th at Cincinnati Children’s Proton Therapy Center. Because of the precision required for treatment, Fred had to be sedated with anesthesia every day. We arrived early in the morning, as Fred was either the first or second case of the day, and we were finished by 9am. He was virtually side effect-free, which allowed us to do our fair share of exploring. We visited friends and family, saw giraffes at the zoo, and had plenty of time to just slow down.

Fred had his last treatment on April 21, and our amazing team in Cincy helped us celebrate appropriately! We returned home the same day, and were beyond thrilled to see dad and big sister again.

Late Friday night, April 24th, Fred spiked a few low-grade fevers. As we’ve done many times before, we packed up and headed to the ER at Children’s here in Buffalo. A lot of people offer support for us playing it safe and getting him checked out when he has a fever, but it really isn’t our decision. Since Fred doesn’t have a fully-functioning immune system, each fever is a medical emergency and requires full work-up. This time was no different, and unfortunately, Fred has bacteremia again. His blood cultures turned positive after only about 14 hours, so we’re still admitted while our team devises a plan. He has been in good spirits, but it’s still difficult to be hospitalized so often. The original plan was for Fred to complete his restaging scans this week to assess his disease status, but that may be on hold for the time being. We appreciate any thoughts and prayers as Freddie tackles yet another infection.

Despite the exhausting treatment course thus far, Freddie continues to surprise us. He took his first steps in Cincinnati, and his vocabulary is expanding every day. We’re so proud of our little warrior, and will continue to fight like hell to get him through this. Thank you all, for everything.

Love, The Reichards