Gladiators 4 Landon

We haven't updated in many years; however, this hasn't changed the fact that our gladiator has continued to fight this horrible disease. We have been through several trials and have even moved states as we had exhausted all treatments available at Miami Children's. We have now been under the care of a team of doctors at CHOA in Atlanta for the last 3+ years. There have been many highs and lows throughout this time and our gladiator has remained resilient.

We went through a period where we had found a treatment that was keeping the progression of disease at bay, and Landon was able to attend school and hang out with friends on a regular basis. This changed, however, as he finished up 6th grade. This summer scans showed that he had new disease in his hip/femur joint area. We opted for radiation as it was only one spot. Unfortunately, scans in August showed that there was more disease progression. Back to the drawing board we went and decided on an oral treatment regimen. We had some hiccups along the way, with side effects being stronger and more debilitating than expected. Our fighter continued to stay strong though, and we were able to find a balance in managing his pain and other side effects.

We had another set of scans completed to see how well the oral treatment has been working to find that it has not helped at all. Instead, we have seen a huge increase in disease progression. His bone marrow is full of disease and he has new active spots in bones throughout his body, as well as those spots we were hoping to rid with treatment. His body is doing everything it can to fight but through these treatments he's also continued to lose weight, dropping him down to 50 pounds yet again.

So here we are again having to choose from trials that are now available that we have no guarantee will work. These options have us in the hospital more. They have Landon going through more pain, more pokes, more medications, more side effects, more tests, more of all of the things he shouldn't. The worst part is that he is continuing to do all that he can and doesn't understand why it still doesn't seem to be enough.

Thank you to those of you who have continued to keep our gladiator in your prayers from day one of this journey! We are appreciative and blessed! We are asking for continued prayers for strength, for patience, and for guidance as we move into another chapter of treatment!