Huge outpouring of support for Grande Prairie youngster with rare cancer diagnosis

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Seven-year-old Isla Clandinin is bravely forging through treatments following a diagnosis in January, of rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer that forms in soft tissue. Folks are rallying around Isla, her parents, Shanda and Lee, and her five-year-old brother Cael. Isla's aunt, Courtnee Dreyer, set up a gofundme page to help the Clandinins pay for medical costs of Isla's 18-month treatment program. It includes chemotherapy treatments in Edmonton, which Isla started on January 24, and radiation therapy in Florida. photo submitted
Seven-year-old Isla Clandinin is bravely forging through treatments following a diagnosis in January, of rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer that forms in soft tissue. Folks are rallying around Isla, her parents, Shanda and Lee, and her five-year-old brother Cael. Isla’s aunt, Courtnee Dreyer, set up a gofundme page to help the Clandinins pay for medical costs of Isla’s 18-month treatment program. It includes chemotherapy treatments in Edmonton, which Isla started on January 24, and radiation therapy in Florida. photo submitted

Seven-year-old Isla Clandinin is bravely facing a diagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer that forms in soft tissue.

Isla’s aunt, Courtnee Dreyer, set up a GoFundMe page on January 25 to help Isla’s parents, Shanda (Dreyer’s sister) and Lee, with the medical costs of her 18-month treatment program, including chemotherapy in Edmonton and radiation therapy in Florida.

“She’s quite little to be going through this journey,” Dreyer, a pediatric nurse, said. “We were all taken out of left field about this. The whole situation is very overwhelming. It just seems surreal. At one moment, you’re grateful your family is healthy, and then all of a sudden, things change. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer family.”

Shanda has been a pediatric nurse for 14 years. Lee is a captain with the Grande Prairie Fire Department. “Both Shanda and Lee have spent their entire careers looking after other people,” Dreyer said. “They’re such strong members of the Grande Prairie community and the surrounding area, and I figured it was time for the community to help – it’s time we take care of them.”

Donations started rolling soon after Dreyer set up the site; in just two days $36,000 was raised. As of Jan. 29, $41,000 has been raised. That response, Dreyer said, is “overwhelming.”

Through this journey, Isla has been a beacon of light. “She is stronger and braver than the rest of us,” Dreyer said. “She still has a smile on her face with everything she’s been through.” Isla loves animals; she wants to be a veterinarian.” Dreyer said Isla has furry friends at home, including Charlie, a big, fluffy cat, and a chocolate lab, Tanzi.

“Isla – she’s so special to so many people. Her and her brother, Cael, are very close. They are best friends; their relationship is so beautiful. It’s hard on both of them not being able to be together. The whole thing is heartbreaking.” Isla is allowed only two visitors a day – and they are her parents of her.

This difficult journey started at the beginning of last December when Shanda noticed swelling in Isla’s neck. She took her to the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital and Isla was admitted into the pediatric ward. The next day she was transferred to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton.

A blood clot was found in the right internal jugular vein, and an MRI showed it had extended toward her heart. As well, a soft tissue mass was found on the right side of Isla’s cheek de ella; a biopsy was done. Isla spent the next ten days at the Stollery, receiving treatment for the blood clot.

After Isla was discharged, she and her family spent an early Christmas in Edmonton with Dreyer and her partner, Mike and her grandma and grandpa, Elaine and Russell Dreyer, from Fairview. On Dec. 20, the Clandinins returned home to Grande Prairie.

on the 31st st , the family returned to the Stollery where Isla had an MRI. “It was just a follow-up to see if the blood clot was getting larger, or had changed in any way,” Dreyer said.

“They didn’t receive any results, so we all thought ‘No news is good news.’ We thought we were in the clear, and Isla said she was feeling a little better.”

But on January 8 Isla started complaining of pain and swelling on the side of her neck. Shanda took her to the hospital in Grande Prairie that day. Isla was medevaced the next day to the Stollery.

The blood clot had become larger; it was extending from the jugular to the top portion of Isla’s heart. She was transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit and put on blood thinners continuously. Dreyer said that she requires one-to-one monitoring; one nurse to one patient. At this point, a number of doctors were involved. After Shanda and Lee met with Isla’s care team, it was determined surgery was necessary. “On January 19 Isla had open heart surgery to remove the blood clot,” Dreyer said. “The surgery was successful; they removed most of the clot.”

But, Dreyer said, during surgery it was discovered the blood clot was part of the tumour. Isla was transferred to the oncology unit at the Stollery.

Isla had her first round of chemotherapy on Jan. 24. “The total duration of Isla’s treatment is going to be 18 months,” Dreyer said. Tentatively, the care plan is three months of chemotherapy in Edmonton. Then Isla and her family de ella will travel to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, where she’ll receive radiation treatments weekly over the course of eight weeks.

Dreyer said, “the radiation will have the least amount of side effects; it’s specific for that type of cancer”. The Clandinin family will be in Jacksonville for a total of nine weeks.

“From there, the plan is to come back to Edmonton and she’ll finish treatment at the Stollery.”

“We have very much come together as a family, to help Shanda and Lee,” Dreyer said. “They’re residing with me and Mike.

“The crisis part of this is past us, and we’re trying to get adjusted to what our new normal is. We’re doing what we can to help with the stressors.”

The link to Isla’s GoFundMe page is provided here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/isla-clandinin-fundraiser

Joanne McQuarrie/Postmedia Staff

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