#EyeFightforCayden

On Friday, August 11, 2017, a white glare was seen in 4 year old Cayden Permenter's eye. Her mother, Cara Permenter spotted this and she and her husband Chris, immediately took her to the ER. By Monday morning, they were told they needed to go to St Jude's for Caydens treatment. Many tears have been cried and prayers have been prayed. It was confirmed that Cayden has a rare case of Retinoblastoma. Cara writes: "We got the diagnosis today, and I felt like I couldn't breath when Dr. Wilson and Dr. Brennan said Retinoblastoma. We have decisions to make by Friday, because treatment begins as soon as Monday. We pray for guidance that we make the right decisions to get Cayden home soon. " This left 2 parents having to make a very heartbreaking decision for their little girl. To remove her eye or undergo chemo. After many more tears and prayers, they found that there is no guarantee that the removal of the eye would leave Cayden cancer free. Cara writes: "Today we got to talk with Dr. Brennan for over an hour about treatment options. As it stands, removal of her eye does not guarantee "cancer free". If any cancer cells have gotten outside the eye, she will have to have chemo after eye removal, and we can't know if cancer cells have left the eye until after it's removed. She has good vision in the eye so we are going to do the chemo route. Her MRI is tomorrow, but we are still thinking chemo is the best first line option. We are going to try to save her eye. ❤️❤️"
Cara is a 1st year intern at University Health in Shreveport, La. Her and her husband Christopher Permenter will have to put life on hold as Cayden undergoes chemo for the next year. They will remain in Memphis, TN at St Jude's for at least the first 2 months. After that, they will return home to one parent having to remain a full time caregiver for Cayden. As Cara needs to finish her residency and use this recent fuel for the fire in her heart to become an amazing Doctor and heal others, the decision for Christopher to stay home with Cayden has been made. Many have reached out and asked what they can do and as much as we do not wish to ever have to ask for help, here we are. Anything you can give to help this precious family down this long, hard road, will be greatly appreciated. It will be a huge adjustment to have to accommodate the home for Caydens needs, along with having to live off of only one income. Anything, I mean ANYTHING is a blessing. This won't just be for the week or the month, but for at least an entire year.

Above all, please continue to pray them through this! Much love to all!!!