Chapter 14 - Week of Whiskers and Fuzz

This week was a busy one with five days at the Castle of Care to get more dragon blood and power potions. Cooper, the Investigator, found an old spell that gave Tiger strength to those who wore these special whiskers. So Super Olivia and the Beckonator put some long ones on Olivia that lasted all week, much to the delight of the Unicorns. One other new thing this week was some fuzz coming in on Olivia's head. The Generals didn't know if it was going to stay but it sure was smooth and cute! Her mum and dad thought they felt like a baby duck.

Super Olivia had a great week and the whiskers kept her Tiger strong! At the end of the week the Generals and Unicorns joined Olivia and the other kids with disguises to trick the Malignois.

Olivia was a black cat, which was a surprise to no one. 

On another front, Olivia's weight was holding steady due to the noodles, candy and McDonald's cheeseburgers. It is amazing how her taste buds and cravings change from week to week. I wonder what will be next. Check back and see....

Chapter 13 - All Charged Up

 Super Olivia and her team have had a great couple of weeks recharging and exploring. It was a nice break from going to the Castle of Care. 

Cooper, the investigator, found her a beautiful forest with a lake that she explored. She was wearing one of her invisibility shirts so she could sneak past a couple of Malignois. She loved the beautiful leaves and fresh air that made her relaxed and strong. She wasn't so sure about the docks over the water. She thought she might fall in and land on one of the Malignois so she steered clear of them.

Olivia was feeling so good that she put on her sparkle jacket that gives her special energy. The Beckonator gave her rainbow glasses that gave her x-ray powers so the Malignois couldn't sneak up on her. She was looking good! Olivia and the Beckonator even got to sneak out for pizza and ice cream. Best day ever!

Next week is a big week. Super Olivia will go to the Castle of Care every day to have the Unicorns give her more dragon blood and power potions. I wonder if she will get more happy and silly juice...

Chapter 12 - The Beat Goes On

Only good surprises for Super Olivia and her team this week. The Generals are doing a great job keeping Olivia strong to continue her battle against the Malignois.

Super Olivia and the Beckonator were sent a secret weapon that looks like a drum set but it actually puts a force field around them. They also added shakers and a harmonica to create music that hypnotizes the Malignois into forgetting who they are looking for. Luckily it is not needed all the time.

Olivia put on her thinking cat cap and came up with an idea. What if she went into hiding for a couple of weeks and not even her team of Generals and Unicorns could know where she goes so she can recharge while the Malignois continue to look for her. If you look carefully you will see their super cool shirts that allow them to hide in plain sight when they sneak outside! I wonder what fun they will have hiding out? Check back in a couple of weeks to find out!

Chapter 11 - Surprises Around Every Corner

Ice cream and friends!

Super Olivia and her team had quite a few surprises in store for them. The BEST surprise happened when her special friends stopped by with an ice cream truck to help her recharge and boy did Olivia and the Beckonator like it! She even got to introduce them to the Kitty Twins and Cooper, the investigator. It was a special day that she is still talking about.

The next surprise was that late one night she had to sneak past the Malignois to go to the Castle of Care to get more happy and silly juice from the Generals and Unicorns to make her feel stronger. She stayed there for three days and played with puzzles, Lego and even painted a bird house. One of the Unicorns even gave her a super soft cat pillow to help her rest.

A missing tooth and cat pillow

The last surprise came when she was eating cheerios. Olivia ate one that was hard and handed it to her mom and it turned out to be her other front tooth! She made a sign and put it on her door to to help the Tooth Fairy find her and it worked. Olivia got four gold coins! She thinks the Tooth Fairy gave her an extra coin since she was at the Castle of Care.

Whew, that's a lot of surprises! What surprises are next? Check back and see!

Chapter 10 - Special Weapon and a Lost Tooth

Sleepy kitties

After a long week of daily dragon blood and power potions, the Generals surprised Super Olivia with a new special weapon. They gave her a transfusion of happy and silly juice through a tube to make her feel more like herself and it worked! She was telling jokes, continuing to train the kittens and exploring new worlds in Roblox. Lots and lots of Roblox. The kittens were exhausted by the end of the weekend.

One other thing happened to Olivia, she lost her front tooth! It fell right out of her mouth and she didn't even notice. Thankfully Cooper, the Investigator, found it and the Tooth Fairy placed $3.00 under her pillow. She bought cool sunglasses and a case for them with cat ears on it. Of course! She's excited because her other front tooth is loose and she is already planning on how to spend it!

Lost a tooth!

Thanks for your ideas to help Olivia keep her strength up! She didn't get any smaller by the end of the week so it really worked! Next week Super Olivia only has one meeting with the Generals and Unicorns for some power potion and then it will be playtime with her team.

Chapter 9 - A Daily Dose of Dragon Blood and New Animal Heroes

Super Olivia visited the Generals and Unicorns at the Castle of Care every day to get her power potions and dragon blood. She loved that she didn't have to spend the nights in the hospital and could go home and relax after each visit.  The Unicorns noticed that Olivia was getting smaller and they were not sure why. Was it something the Malignois were doing or was she just not eating enough? She will need to eat WAY more ice cream, steak and noodles if she is going to stay strong. Her team worked really hard to get her bigger. We will have to see if it works next week or if the Unicorns need to bring new weapons to help.
You may remember that earlier Cooper, the Investigator, sent out a distress signal to his other animal heroes to join the new battle with Malignois. Guess who showed up? The tiny Bengal sister kittens, Cookie and Ninja, to begin their training for the battle. Olivia and the Beckonator are having a great time teaching them jumps, flips and chasing bad guys. They are fast, with VERY sharp claws and should be ready to take on anything very soon.

It was a big week and everyone is hoping for some rest next week as we continue to plan the next phase of our attack. Let Olivia know if you have any suggestions to help her grow and be strong!

Chapter 8 - New Disguise and a Bell Ringing

No hair, don't care!

Wow, what a week it was for Super Olivia and her team. You might notice something different about Super Olivia. Cooper, the investigator, researched new disguises for Olivia and came across a group of other Super Heroes like her that shaved their hair so they can sneak past the Malignois whenever they want so Olivia and her team did it! Since she looked so cool, the Beckonator did it too!

From the Generals and Unicorns

Now that she had her new disguise, she went to the Castle of Care every day that week to have laser beam fights with the Malignois. Those little
blobs are tricky to find, they seemed to be around every corner. Monday was the last battle using the lasers so the Generals and Unicorns gave her a certificate for the excellent job she did and let her ring a special bell to let everyone know that she had completed this adventure!

Time to party!

To celebrate, Super Olivia and the Beckonator got all dressed up and went to a fancy dinner - socially distanced, of course! They got special red drinks with cherries and ate as much ice cream as they wanted. What a night to remember!

This week, we will just have one dose of power portions and will rest up. Next week is going to be a big week and the dragon blood will be coming out again! Stay tuned...

Chapter 7 - Unicorns and Ninja Kitty

Super Olivia checked in for five days at the Castle of Care for power potions, dragon blood and laser beams. Cooper, the Investigator, had found a den of special Unicorns that had sharp horns that they use to put magical medicines into her chest for extra power! They will be with her for the rest of her journey, every step of the way. They are way cool!!

Bingo! Meet Cheeto

Party Dress Disguise

To pass time, she played fun bingo games with other friends she made and that we call The Squad. Each of them had a code name and hers was Ninja Kitty (of course). She won cool prizes like an Orange Cat that she named Cheeto that spun around the room and meowed, sneezed and snored. The Unicorns decided she needed an extra disguise so they got her a party dress to fool the Malignois.

Later in the week she began using this super cool weapon called the Laser Beamer that collects all the good thoughts from the people cheering her on and shoots them into her body as a secret weapon to take out the Malignois! (View video) She loved the super cool room and being so high up in the air as the laser beams did their job.

Reunited with Beckonator and Cooper

She stayed strong through the whole week and had a fun time with the Unicorns telling her kitty stories, and she brought a smile to all their faces. They were sad to see her go, but it was time, and they knew they would see her next week. Olivia was excited to get back to home base and reunite with the Beckonator, Cooper, the Investigator, and the kitty twins.

Next up, the five days of laser beam fights, meeting with the Generals and Unicorns, and getting more power potions. Let's see how it goes, check back next week!

Chapter 6 - Malignois vs Laser Beams

Let the celebration begin! Super Olivia returned to home base where she got to relax for EIGHT days and didn't even need to get her power potions! She mostly recharged and drank lots of medicine milkshakes, cuddled the kitty twins and slept in her own bed. She told Beckonator that she missed the Castle of Care because they were all so nice and gave her toys and treats.She also missed her green button she pushed to get special healing medicine.

She met with her Generals during the week and got great news! They did one final search for Tumorphus and he is definitely all gone and they didn't find any other bad guys but the evil blobs, Malignois, were still messing around. It was time to call in a very special General who will use laser beams to fight the Malignois! The General will make a special bean bag for Olivia to sit on that will show where the blobs are hiding. She will fire her laser beams at them for eight straight days. 

Super Olivia is ready!

The Beckonator has been collecting more dragon blood since it worked so well defeating Tumorphus. He will send it with Super Olivia when she returns to the Castle of Care. She will stay for five days getting daily doses of power potions and dragon blood. While she is away, Cooper, the investigator, is sending out a distress signal to his other animal heroes to join the new battle with the Malignois! 

Who do you think he will find to join the fight? Check back and see...

Chapter 5 - Tumorphus' Defeat

Olivia beginning battle with her Unikitty

"Tumorphus' defeat is complete!!" cried out Super Olivia's Generals in the Castle of Care.  Super Olivia and Beckonator's plan to have the Generals break into Tumorphus' lair and banish him forever with the use of Dragon Blood went way more smoothly than they could have hoped.  Beckonator and the kitty twins directed things from home base while Olivia manned the battle station deep in the heart of the Castle of Care.   The Generals worked fast, Super Olivia was brave, she'll have a scar to remember the battle by but will be able to return to home base much sooner than the Generals predicted and Tumorphus' is gone forever.  

But wait!  What do the Generals see now?  It seems Tumorphus had one last trick up his sleeve.  He may be gone but he left behind some of his meanest weapons - the Malignios  - blob-like villains who are really hard to catch because they just float around making trouble wherever they go.  Super Olivia, Beckonator and the kitty twins hoped to have just one battle but they are ready for another one - Those Malignios won't know what hit them when our superheroes are done with them!

Recharging at the Castle

To re-energize for the next phase of attack, Super Olivia will go home and recharge all her powerpacks until she's at full strength to reenter the Castle of Care.  There she will fill up on all different flavors of power potions designed to blast each and every one of the Malignios into smithereens.  Cooper, the investigator, has been doing lots of research on how to defeat Tumorphus' Malignios and Beckonator will collect as much Dragon Blood as possible.  Cooper learned there could be several week-long skirmishes throughout the year.  The Malignios are tiny and tough, but no match for Super Olivia and her crew.

Next up, phase two begins the next battle between Team Olivia and the Malignios!!

Quick update from a big day!

Hey there, Today’s big surgery went great! The doctors were extremely happy and so are we. She’s now just resting up for up to 5 days in the Castle of Care. No other story spoilers until this weekend but I wanted to let you know she is resting well! We will take the win!! And of course she had her trusty kitty unicorn with her! XO and a big sigh of relief.

Chapter 4 - Dragon Blood and Costumes



Superheroes Olivia, Beckonator and Cooper

Super Olivia, Beckonator and Cooper used costumes to sneak in the Castle of Care to meet with her special team of Generals to plan the big attack on Tumorphus. They got some good news. One of the generals spotted Tumorphus and found out that he had shrunk to half his original size. Good work medicine milkshakes! Now was the time to get rid of him once and for all!

Here’s the plan - the kitty twins and Cooper, the investigator, will set a trail to the Castle of Care. Super Olivia will be there with a very secret weapon called Dragon Blood. It is known as one of the most powerful weapons on earth and they know Tumorphus will want it for himself, too much to stay away.

The team of Generals will trap Tumorphus and remove him once and for all. Then they plan to get rid of all traces so he will never bother Olivia again.

 

Now it is time to get ready for battle. Super Olivia and Beckonator are training for the fight (view video) as Copper and the kitty twins set the trail and the Generals get the army ready. It will take everyone’s fantastic powers to defeat him!

 

All we can do is send Oliva and her team all your best thoughts this week, because this battle is going to be a tough one.

Update for Adults

 

Earlier this summer.

First of all, I want to thank all of you for the kindness you have showered on our family through words of encouragement, prayers, offers to help and your very generous gifts. We truly have the most amazing family, friends and school family!!You make each day brighter!

Olivia has been doing great tolerating chemo each week, getting her weight back up after a big drop the first week, and just generally being happy, silly Olivia. Here is where the BUT comes in. When we did the initial biopsy analysis they thought it was the more treatable Wilms tumor but they followed protocol and sent it to a lab in Ohio. We got the results on Friday that Olivia has the more rare and aggressive form of the tumor. One of the things with this rare diagnosis is that it lingers and can come back as other forms of cancer later which terrifies me.That poor kid can not catch a break! But as always with this thing, one day at a time.

 

She will start a new treatment plan called Regimen M, for those of you who like to do research.  This will add 6-8 weeks of treatment and be much tougher on her. We believe she will have surgery next Thursday/Friday and will stay in the hospital to recover and on Monday she stays in for daily chemo with multiple drugs and now weekly radiation. She will have the 5-day stays about 3 - 5 times, I think. I’m still getting my head wrapped around this new curveball. 

 

Thank you again for all your support! It has really helped us and most importantly, Olivia and Beckett. My heart's just not in it for a new chapter this week but I always try to post every Sunday by dinner. I am surprised how cathartic it has become for me to write these chapters and Olivia loves to brainstorm ideas. We have a special notebook that she bedazzled (of course) to write down our brainstorming sessions. It should be a sweet keepsake once she recovers. That’s all for now. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and stay safe and healthy during these crazy times!

XO

Chapter 3 - Unicorns and Rainbows

This week, Olivia went to the Castle of Care and got her double dose of super juice and she did great! She even got her own personal trainer to train her for the battle with Tumorphus. She felt good all week and even swam each day with Beckonator to keep her spirits up.





Later that week, Olivia and the kittens were walking back from the garden when they saw Tumorphus trying to sneak up on them. Cooper told her that unicorn magic is so strong that by rubbing their horn it will give people special powers and if you think it, it will happen. So Olivia jumped on her unicorn, rubbed the horn and thought about getting away from him. The unicorn flew up, up and over the rainbow leaving Tumorphus behind.

Next week, Super Olivia will add dragon blood and costumes into her battle plan. What do you think will happen next? Leave it in the comments!

Chapter 2 - Cuts and Carrots

Over this next week, Beckonator was on watch with Cooper as his backup. One day they saw Tumorphus peek out of the woods and he looked smaller. Those milkshakes with medicine seemed to be working! Cooper and the kittens had read a lot of books and decided it was time for Super Olivia to get her first disguise. A haircut that was so different, Tumorphus would never recognize her. Cooper also told Olivia to collect a number of cool hats to get Tumorphus off her trail.

At the Castle of Care, Olivia was instructed to eat as much as possible to keep her strong. She got to eat as many snacks as she wanted. Bring on the Cheetos, shakes, French fries and chicken nuggets. Followed by ice cream and pickles. She also told her parents that she really liked carrots, so they had some delivered. WOW! Holy Cat Tails! Look at those carrots.

This week Olivia will get a double dose of super juices and will need all of you cheering her on! Our next chapter, the magic of unicorns and rainbows...

Chapter 1 - And the quest begins...



Hanging at the Castle of Care

Super Olivia and her team assembled at the Castle of Care to plan a top-secret mission. The doctors hid an almost invisible weapon called a power port in her chest. This allows Olivia to secretly get super juices in her body to make her healthy without Tumorphus knowing. Captain Beckonator communicates with Olivia at the castle to plot the next phase of their plan. It involves milkshakes, strawberries and kittens.



Recharging with the kitties



Olivia comes home and is sneaking medicine into milkshakes so that Tumorphus shrinks a little with each sip. She also eats strawberries that she grows in her own invisible garden to give her super strength. To recharge her energy during the day, Olivia snuggles in with the help of the kitty twins, who use their purring powers to help her sleep.

As Olivia rests, Cooper the investigator researches ways to outsmart Tumorphus and here’s a hint – it involves a disguise! What will Super Olivia look like?
Check back to see in the next chapter…

What will the disguise be?

Comment by Olivia

Olivia says... I’m going to be better kind of by Christmas time.

The Origin Story

The Origin Story

It was a bright sunny afternoon in May 2013 when a tiny baby girl was born and she was named Olivia. She grew up over the next 7 years to be a strong, caring, and funny girl who loved school and playing with her friends. She also had a little brother named Beckett who she loved so much. She also had 3 sidekicks - Copper her dog and sister Siamese kitties - Mohawk and Sparkles. Together, they formed a team to protect, love, and help others. They became Super Olivia, and her trusty sidekicks - the Kitty Power twins, Mohawk and Sparkles, Agent Cooper the investigator and Capitan Beckinator the fearless. They spent their days running off geese, building forts in the woods, and riding bikes and skateboards.

One day Olivia said she did not feel good so she gathered her sidekicks and parents to figure out the mystery. What they found out they could not believe. Olivia’s body was being attacked by the evil villain, Tumorphus! He had implanted a dangerous tumor in her belly and it was up to her doctors, sidekicks, and parents to hatch a plan to defeat the villain and make her body healthy again. Was it going to be easy?  NO! Was she going to feel good all the time?  NO! But were she and her team going to use every weapon they had to destroy Tumorphus?  YES!! 

In the next chapter, we will start our quest for Olivia’s good health. 

What do you think? Any words of encouragement you can share? Any pictures or videos you can post to help her on the next phase of her mission?

Kids cancer - Preface for Adults

Excited Baby Olivia






Preface for Adults (aren’t I fancy)

Many of you either know my family or know Olivia. We had the shock of our lives last week. Last week we thought she had a bladder infection and by Thursday she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer - Wilms Tumor. She has a massive tumor within her kidney and spots on her lungs. It is too big to remove given the size (half a football) so we are starting weekly radiation on Friday (6/12) and hope to shrink it to a point that they can remove in 7 weeks. 



Our girl - Olivia

I want to keep people who are interested updated but Caring Bridge seemed too grownup for 7-year-olds and I want her friends to feel comfortable getting updates and sharing comments, pictures, videos, etc. to keep them connected. When she makes it back to school, Olivia will look and probably act a little differently but I know the silly, happy, energetic little girl will be back to us soon.

So, what’s the plan with this blog? I thought it would be more fun for everyone if we did it like a story. Hence, the name of this blog. I’ll be providing chapters as we move through our journey and I’ll have Olivia write her reactions so the kids can hear from her directly and this may even help all the kids’ reading and spelling - but don’t tell them. ;) 

Several people have asked for our address and phone:

Olivia VanderHorst

3930 Shady Oak Rd
Minnetonka, MN 55305
Chris (Dad): 612-203-8422                Kristin (Mom): 612-423-2158
cgolf66@comcast.net                        stentowin@yahoo.com 


Disclaimer: I have no idea if I can pull this off. The last story I probably wrote was in college and for those who knew me then are probably groaning at the possibilities of success - and timeliness. If there are any good writers out there that might have fun with the storytelling, just let me know. I welcome any ghostwriters!