Download the 2012 Annual Report - Arkansas Children's Hospital

After Landon complained of a headache forthe third time in five days, his mother choseto take him to the emergency departmentat Chicot Memorial Hospital in Lake Village,Arkansas. Good choice.Landon’s initial test results were negative. But hisslightly elevated blood pressure prompted physiciansto order a CT scan asa precaution. Anothergood choice.The scan revealed a tumoron Landon’s brain.Physicians immediatelycontacted ArkansasChildren’s Hospital.Hours later he wasairlifted to ACH andadmitted into intensivecare.The next day, a team ofneurosurgeons performed a complete resection ofLandon’s medulloblastoma tumor during a six-hoursurgery. Fortunately, the cancer had not spread, butLandon’s fight was just beginning. What followed wasan exhausting regimen of radiation, chemotherapy andtransfusions.“Landon’s treatment protocol was rigorous. He hadradiation treatments every Monday through Fridayfor six consecutive weeks,” said Dr. Shelley Crary, theoncologist in charge of Landon’s care.Crary continued, “With each treatment, Landonexperienced the full spectrum of side effects, fromfatigue, to headaches, to nausea.” Landon and hismother will tell you without hesitation that theradiation treatments were the most difficult partof the journey.Chemotherapy came next. For each treatment, Landontravels two hours to ACH, where he spends threedays in the hospital. Oneweek after each visit, hebegins a series of chemoinjections. One every dayfor 14 straight days. Theyare administered by hismother. It’s not an easytask.The chemotherapy injectionsalso help to maintainhis white blood cellcount. If the count dropsbelow a certain level, hischemotherapy must bepostponed. In the midstof all this, Landon has had no less than ten blood andplatelet transfusions.The experience has changed Landon. He is kinder.More gentle. Reflective. He is mature beyond hisseven years. His mother speculates that Landonrealizes how fortunate he is to be alive. But there’sone thing she knows for sure: Landon is the mostcourageous child she has ever known.2012 was more than ayear of celebration.It was the yearLandon’s battlewith cancerwas waged onall fronts.The Possibility of GivingMore than 90 percent of children in Arkansas with cancerreceive treatment at ACH. Because of ACH’s Circle ofFriends, hundreds of kids are successfully fighting cancer.1213