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As told by Stefani Haar
 Grant was our first child and the only grandchild for both of our parents. He spent the first seven months of his life completely healthy. No fevers, no flu, not even a runny nose. My mom came over and thought she heard him wheezing slightly and suggested we take him to our family doctor. We went in at 9 a.m. for wheezing and came out at 2 p.m. with cancer.
We were referred to Gundersen Lutheran’s Pediatric Oncology Unit and Dr. Bob Ettinger. We were told he was the best. We met with Dr. Ettinger and Dr. Mark Saxton, the pediatric surgeon, until late into the night. Dr. Bob went through Grant’s CT scan explaining where the tumor was and what it looked like. Both doctors were very caring which was difficult with our large, devastated, sobbing family. They took the time to go over exactly what would happen in the next few hours and days.
Grant went into surgery the next morning. After 7 1/2 hours of surgery to remove a tumor the size of Grant’s head and to place his port, Grant was wheeled back to us swollen, unconscious and with tubes coming from every hole in his body. The Peds staff was so great with us. They gently lifted him onto our laps and let us know everything they did.
To stay strong for the battle we were facing, the staff also made sure my husband and I were eating. The Children’s Miracle Network provided us with coupons to eat in the dining room. It was such a burden lifted to have the meals provided.
We spent eight long months getting Grant through radiation and chemotherapy. The Pediatric Oncology team was, and is, so wonderful to our family. They worked with us in caring for a baby that was always on the move. We even developed a walker equipped with an IV pole so he could run around during chemo. We did more laps than most Indy car drivers!
Not every facility would work with the whole family as Gundersen Lutheran has. It is obvious Grant is loved, but my husband and I have always felt included and heard regarding Grant’s care. Dr. Bob even listened to our repeated requests to come to Camp Sunshine to care for other kids with cancer. Now a lot of people know how great Dr. Bob, the Pediatric Oncology team, 4 West staff and Gundersen Lutheran are.
Grant is now a healthy, active 3-year-old little boy. He celebrated two years cancer free last September and we look forward to many more celebrations!
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