March News- Give Kids the World Village
Give Kids the World is celebrating 35 years of hope! Give Kids The World Village is a nonprofit “storybook” resort in Central Florida. Here, children with critical illnesses and their families are treated to weeklong, cost-free vacations. Reid stayed at GKTW during his Make-A-Wish trip and we can’t say enough about what an amazing week it was! Reid was featured as the Iowa story for their 35 years of hope fundraiser. Take a look at the link to learn more about this awesome organization: Give Kids the World
FAMILY SPOTLIGHT: The Uhlenhopp Family
Bria is a happy 6 year old who loves being outside, crafting, and playing with her friends. You wouldn’t know all she’s been through in her short life. Bria’s mom, Jenny, shared her story with us this month.
Bria & Reid- February 2018 Bria & little brother, Talen- March 2021
Bria was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system, at just 22 months old. Bria endured five rounds of chemotherapy, followed by an eight hour tumor removal surgery. Following surgery, Bria did one additional chemotherapy round, but unfortunately, her scans continued to show disease in her body. She then endured two rounds of high dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplants.
Bria was such a trooper and wasn’t ever in the hospital for more than three weeks. These treatments have profoundly damaged Bria’s little body. Each of her teeth had cavities. The chemo was so strong it wiped out all of her good cells, including her reproductive system. How do you even begin to tell a child, or adult, who talks about having babies of their own one day…”I’m sorry you won’t be able to.” Heartbreaking to say the least…
After transplant, Bria went on to do 20 rounds of radiation. She had to be put under anesthesia five days a week for four weeks. Then, she went on to the most cruel treatment of all ch 14/18, also known at immunotherapy. Bria completed five rounds of immunotherapy. She tolerated the first round well; however, the second, third, and fourth rounds put her in the PICU. Her little body kept shutting down. To bring her blood pressure back to normal, they were forced to stop treatment. Finally, during the fifth round they slowed the treatment, and she tolerated it well.
After 18 months of treatment, Bria’s scans still showed evidence of disease. Bria’s family then reached out to NY Sloan Kettering, a hospital specializing in Neuroblastoma. At Sloan, Bria started a year long neuroblastoma vaccine (seven shots with beta glucan – two weeks on and two weeks off). Unfortunately, in the middle of her sixth and final shot, Bria relapsed. The next step was two rounds of chemo followed by another surgery.
Bria endured an eight hour surgery including a high dose of radiation directly to the tumor bed. After recovering from surgery, she completed another high dose of chemo. All care was transferred to NY, and Bria started their version of immunotherapy called 3f8. While this treatment is very painful, it was outpatient and shorter infusion time which meant less hospital time. She eventually completed five rounds of 3f8.
After completing the five rounds of 3f8/immunotherapy, she continued the Neuroblastoma vaccine trial which she completed in December of 2020. Due to the various treatments Bria has endured, she has high blood pressure which is now controlled with two different medications. She has had no evidence of active disease for two years, and she now has follow up scans every three months.
We are so proud of you Bria! You are an amazing little girl! Look out for Bria’s artwork in our auction at the Rally for Reid golf outing this summer!
NEXT UP: SAVE THE DATES!
RALLY FOR REID FOOTBALL CAMP
Hosted by Former Iowa Hawkeyes & Current NFL players
Come have some fun and be coached by some former Iowa Hawkeye players! Our Rally for Reid Football camp will be held June 27, 2021 in Davenport, Iowa at St. Vincent’s Athletic Complex. Registration will be open to grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. All proceeds benefit the Rally for Reid Foundation.
Check out our 2021 Coach lineup!
Jake Gervase– Former Iowa Hawkeye safety & Current LA Ram
Ben Neimann-Former Iowa Hawkeye linebacker & Current KC Chief, Superbowl Champ 2019
Tristan Wirfs– Former Iowa Hawkeye offensive lineman & Current Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Superbowl Champ 2020
Josey Jewell– Former Iowa Hawkeye linebacker & Current Denver Bronco
Parker Hesse– Former Iowa Hawkeye defensive lineman & Current Tennessee Titan
Nate Stanley– Former Iowa Hawkeye Quarterback & Current Minnesota Viking
Nick Easley– Former Iowa Receiver & Former Buffalo Bill
Keith Duncan– Former Iowa Kicker & Current NFL Draft Prospect
Nick Neimann– Former Iowa Linebacker & Current NFL Draft Prospect
RALLY FOR REID GOLF OUTING
Our Rally for Reid 1st Annual Golf Outing will be held on Friday, July 16th at Pinnacle Country Club in Milan, Illinois with a 9:00am start date! Not a golfer? That’s okay! We’ve got plenty of ways for you to get involved. We will have a virtual & live auction and raffle items. ALL proceeds will go towards our pledge of $25,000 to Stead Family Children’s Hospital Department of Neuro-Oncology Research.
Know someone who would like to sponsor a hole? We’ve got different levels and plenty of ways to get involved. Shoot us a message at [email protected] and check out the links below to get more information. REGISTER HERE.
Sending love,
Megan & The Rally for Reid Team