Zoe’s Story

Site created on January 31, 2024

***Important: donations given from the links titled "Donate to CaringBridge" or the “Tribute” button go to the online site team, and do NOT go to Zoe.  We are only asking for prayers and kindness. If you would like to offer anything directly to our family, please use the "Ways to Help" button for our GoFundMe option or Kelly has a Venmo @KellyDupasquier
Welcome to our website for our Zoe-bird. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place.  We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Please read the Journal entries and Follow for notifications as we update. 

To our family and friends - thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your thoughts, prayers and support for our family. We are in a place that no one expects to be in. We are learning new things every day and working to provide the best possible care for Zoe. 

On December 1st, we noticed a small lump on the side of Zoe's left cheek. There was no recent injury or cause for a lump, she had no other symptoms, no fever, no pain, we'd just had a dentist apt, and she was otherwise healthy. We set up a virtual visit with our primary doctor and we’re told to just observed it, thinking it might have been a lymph node or clogged gland.

A week later, the lump was still there and not getting any better. So we pushed for an in-person visit and it was decided to set up an ultrasound to look into the lump further. The ultrasound didn't tell us much and the lump was starting to get bigger. We had to advocate for her a lot and were finally transferred to downtown Minneapolis Children's Masonic, scheduled for a contrast CT and then a biopsy to investigate the tissue further. During this time Zoe started to have more pain, the lump was growing in size rapidly, she was missing more school, and we pulled her from cheerleading. 

On Jan 23rd the doctor at Children's called to tell us that Zoe was diagnosed with Spindle Cell Rhabdomyosarcoma, a spontaneous childhood cancer that usually starts in tissue or ligaments. Unfortunately, Zoe's cancer appeared to have started in her jaw bone, which is quite uncommon. We had a MRI and PET scan to determine if the cancer had spread any further, which thankfully did not indicate any spread. 

There is a specific type of gene which is showing up in her tumor which makes treatment planning really, really hard. After a consultation at Mayo and lots of outside help from our medical network of friends, we decided to start a chemo plan in the cities at Children's. On February 1st, Zoe received a chest port for her chemo medication and started chemo. 
After two cycles of chemo, we found that the tumor was still increasing in size. So we pivoted to having a surgery on March 13th down at Mayo to remove as much of the known tumor as they could and then more treatment to follow. The surgery removed her compromised jaw bone and muscle, replacing all of it with a pieces from her shoulder blade and titanium. The team at Mayo did amazing work, saving all but one of her facial nerves (she will have some numbness in her lower jaw) and restoring her functionality. We were blessed with good results and told they were able to remove all of the tumor, with zero margins for remaining detected cancer. We prayed every day for results like these.

In early April, Zoe started preventative chemo to stop any remaining cancer in her body from reforming into a tumor. Assuming that she tolerates the medicines, she would finish 8months of weekly chemo, with radiation at some point. We pray for her continued healing, increased strength, and positive energy.

Thank you again for your support. 


***Important: donations given from the links titled "Donate to CaringBridge" or the “Tribute” button go to the online site team, and do NOT go to Zoe.  If you would like to offer anything directly to our family, please use the "Ways to Help" button for our GoFundMe option or Venmo @kellydupasquier

Newest Update

Mondays

Journal entry by Kelly D —

The last week was harder for Zoe, she had her "big" chemo session on that Monday. The overnight in the hospital went better, mom remembered to bring all her comfy blankets and pillows and she got some good sleep. It always makes her nauseous, so even though she was discharged the next day, she spent a few days feeling really icky and not able to keep any food down. Even with the tube feedings, she can't keep things down.

She’s back to herself today, able to eat and has much better energy. Zoe will have seven more months of the preventative chemo to make sure there’s nothing left over from the initial cancer. Once a month she has the “big” chemo and the other Mondays are “little” doses, so those weeks go better.

Two days after her “big” chemo, we have to give her an injection of medication to help her immunity boost back up. They send the meds, needles and vials home for us to dose her with. It’s a very humbling experience for all the families out there that have daily meds to give kids. After the fourth round of this, Zoe still hates it, but is better at handling the poke.

She did develop a head cold over the weekend which is expected since her immunity is way down and there’s lots of crud going around. The hardest part is trying to blow her nose with the feeding tube in! We are planning on switching her to an abdominal tube soon, which will help.

Another Monday means chemo later today, fingers crossed her bloodwork is still good even with a head cold and she’s able to stay on course. 

 

***Important: donations given from the links titled "Donate to CaringBridge" or the “Tribute” button go to the online site team, and do NOT go to Zoe.  We are only asking for prayers and kindness. If you would like to offer anything directly to our family, please use the "Ways to Help" button for our GoFundMe option or Kelly has a Venmo @kellydupasquier.  If you are confused on any screen, please do not donate

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