Thomas Carroll Support Sweet Thomas

We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. If you want to help, click “Ways to Help” above in the purple banner. It will be updated as we progress through the process.  Thank you for visiting. (Note: The “Tributes” button in the purple banner or the “Donate” at the bottom gives directly to the Caring Bridge company and not the Carroll Family.)


A brief overview of our journey: 
While visiting family in Portland for Christmas, Thomas went to the children's hospital (it was recommended to take him in due to a large mass near his liver).  He was immediately diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma (pediatric liver cancer) on December 22nd. We did the biopsy there to confirm the diagnosis, and soon left to head home. Thomas went directly to Phoenix Children's Hospital, and surgery was scheduled for January 2nd. The surgeons were able to remove a mango sized tumor off the lower right side of his liver. They discovered the tumor had ruptured in two places, which required more chemotherapy than planned.  He requires six total "big" treatments with 4 different types of chemotherapy (Doxirubicin, Cisplatin, F5, and VinChristine) every three weeks, but two weeks in between he receives VinChristine each Friday. The "big" treatments require that he is admitted to the hospital for the weekend, because he gets two doses of the Doxirubicin (24 hours apart). Thomas has had approximately 10 transfusions (blood and platelets). He has admitted due to fevers 5 times. He struggles with pain from mucositis (sores that run from his mouth, down his throat through his organs, and on his bottom), which are extremely painful. He doesn't like to eat already as chemo changes the taste of food, and meds are hard to get down, so we opted for a feeding tube to help offset the struggle of nutrition and medicines. He struggles with nausea, overall fatigue, and several side effects such as drowsy eyes and being off balance. He will no longer walk on his own, but maybe a few steps here and there. He is very hard to understand, so it is a constant battle deciphering what he is trying to communicate. This journey is far from over, because we expect him to decline on the last half of chemo. The Carrolls are doing the best they can to persevere through all of this. Prayers have certainly been their source of strength through all of this. THANK YOU to all of you who follow the journey and support them in SO many ways.  Please keep praying and supporting them as they endure such hardship.