Horton Family

My name is Ashley Crow, I am Sara’s sister and Lucas’s aunt. Through many conversations and a lot of encouragement to Sara and Dustin, I have been given their blessing to create a GoFundMe page. It is my hope to help alleviate the financial burden that occurs with medically complex issues and allow the Horton’s to have a bit more freedom to be with Lucas.The Horton's have been battling complex medical issues for four years and throughout it they have remained positive and incredibly brave, but due to the severity of the issues you can see the toll they are taking. They continue to be the most selfless people regardless of their circumstances. I have included a summary of Lucas’s journey below:

Lucas’ Story:

On August 29th of 2019, Lucas (6 y.o) was diagnosed with a Grade III Ependymoma brain tumor. Grade III Ependymoma is a very aggressive form of brain cancer that has a high tolerance against radiation and chemo. On 9/9/2019, Lucas underwent his first brain surgery where they were able to successfully remove the tumor. Shortly after this initial surgery, Lucas had a shunt placed on the back of his head and began radiation treatment that consisted of 33 treatments 5 days a week for a little over 6 weeks. After the tumor removal, The Children's Hospital sent a portion of the tumor to the Mayo Clinic for molecular testing. In January 2020, we found out the results of the tests, and they were not what we wanted to hear.

Lucas has a rare cell in the tumor that has a high tendency to reproduce itself from microscopic cells that can be left behind after the removal and radiation treatments. A port was placed very shortly after this news and chemo started. For the next 3+ months, Lucas continued with his aggressive chemo treatments and numerous ICU/inpatient stays, pokes, pills, blood transfusions and too many side effects from medications to list. April 2020 Lucas had his last round of chemo. Yay! Things had remained “uneventful” with scans done every 3 months. At his appointment on June 29th, 2021, they unfortunately discovered 2 new tumors. July 13, 2021, Lucas underwent yet another brain surgery and started another 33 rounds of radiation. November 2021 began a new phase of chemo that Lucas was able to do from home. Lucas completed 1 more year of chemo which ended in November of 2022. The treatment options Lucas has been using, as of now, are the best-known solutions in attempting to eradicate the tumors. With all the clinical trials it has been proven to be the best treatments for this type of tumor. Unfortunately, the number of children that are diagnosed and the life expectancy after diagnosis is low therefore the clinical trials are tough as some patients don't make it to the end of the trial. Luckily for Lucas right now, he’s been able to have the tumors removed completely. Sometimes the tumors will grow in places where they cannot be surgically removed e.g., other parts of the brain and spine, which out of all the treatment options surgery is the best-known prevention.

April 3rd, 2023, marked the start of a new and confusing journey as Lucas ended back in the PICU with severe abdominal pain. Currently, Lucas has undergone multiple surgeries with this stay. He has had major surgeries on his abdomen due to pockets of fluid building up. This has resulted in the removal of sections of his small intestine that has now led to a stoma needing to be placed. This is where his intestine is routed to the outside of his body and needing to use a colostomy bag while his intestines heal. Essentially his insides are in rough shape due to continued leaking, fluid buildup and infection. The cause isn’t fully known as to why this keeps causing havoc. This poor little boy is in such rough shape and has a very long road of recovery ahead of him. Due to the complexity of the issues we have taken additional steps to contact outside doctors to provide expertise to this evolving situation.

Please keep the Horton Family in your prayers as we wait anxiously for the next step and hopefully some answers. Lucas has done a phenomenal job fighting cancer twice and now has another battle to fight with his intestinal issues. Chemo and radiation has taken such a toll on this little guy. Thank you for taking the time to read and for any consideration of offering support for this family. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Caring Bridge Site:

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lucashorton