Translate This Page To: Spanish German French Italian Portuguese Norwegian Brought to you From FreeTranslation.com Give a gift in honor of this child. David "Fisher" Clark We now have a post office box for Fisher. If you get the chance, he would love to get a letter, or card from his friends. He love you all so much!. The address is: Fisher Clark c/o Carolyn Clark PO Box 2781 Chesapeake, Va 23327 Fisher's Guestbook       Fisher's Photo Album Fall                   Spring Current Page Page One UPDATE: 6-2-04 Good afternoon everyone!! I hope you all are having a great day! The weather here is so beautiful, its warm (not hot), the humidity is low......... ahhhhh we are enjoying it while we can. It is possible we may have an answer to Fisher's nosebleeds. The clinic ran some blood tests and one of them came back that his platelets aren't functioning properly. Now, I have no idea what that means, or what the treatment (if any) would be. At least I know it wasn't me being a neurotic mom again. :) Things are moving along nicely with the arrangements with Keith Urban. The only "kink" in the plan is that only one parent can go back with Fisher... You can bet who that will be :) Sorry dad!! :-D Please remember Fisher's postcard challenge. He is having a ball looking at all of them. I have them in a photo album for him. Thanks to all who have sent him a card!! :) Thanks for checking on us! We love you all!! Carolyn and Fisher Today's Fisherism: Fisher on his brothers getting into trouble: "Mom, sometimes you have to let them get into poop just so they can see just how stinky it is." Out of the mouths of babes :) UPDATE: 5-27-04 Hello everyone! Im sorry that I haven't updated in a few days. We had a good weekend. Hot, but good. We didn't get to meet Trace Adkins, but, it is looking very good that Fisher will be able to meet his favorite Keith. :) The postcards are starting to come in :). Fisher is having so much fun looking at them all. So, please keep sending them. It really brightens his day! Thank you all for the cards, postcards and most of all, thanks for all your prayers. I can feel the love and prayers around me, and it gets me through the day! Have a great day! We love you all!! Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 5-22-04 Hello everyone! Welcome to the weekend! Our little Fishie continues to impress us. He had his special education testing today and in several areas where he was developmentally behind, he has caught up!! He is still behind in some areas, but I am so proud of him. We are on the fence as to whether to put him in a mainstream kindergarten next year or to put him in a SpEd Kindergarten. In any case, he has great reason to be proud of himself. This weekend we are planning to go to our city festival. On Sunday we will be going to a Trace Adkins concert! I hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful weekend. Thanks for visiting us, have a wonderful evening. We love you all! Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 5-20-04 Good Morning everyone! Wow! Its Thursday already! The weekend is almost here. I know my kids are happy. :) Thanks to all who sent such supportive emails and those who prayed for Josh. We took him to the doctor, and now hopefully things will go a bit better for him. He seems much more relaxed. So thanks :) Fisher continues to do great. He is such a joy to have around. He is back to playing his Spyro games and having a ball with it. He took a small break from the games for awhile, but, now he is back at it. The next game he is eyeballing is Shrek 2. We told him he would have to save his allowance for it. (Yes at 5 yrs old he gets an allowance) So before long, he will have that one too. I have to tell you guys something really cool. Fisher received the nicest gift yesterday. Ms Teresa from PA, sent him a jean jacket with a line from Fisher's favorite song on it. He loves it so much. Honestly, I don't know who spoils him more his dad (ahem, not his mom) or his online friends. :) Please remember our friends who need prayer: Stacy is waiting for her MRI results, Cheyenne is still in need of prayer and I am sure there are many, many others. Thank you all for checking on us. Have a wonderful day! We love you all. Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 5-18-04 Good afternoon everyone! It is another beautiful day here in Va. Fisher just got home from school and we are waiting for BBQ wings to be delivered. This kid could eat his weight in wings I think. But, if its wings he wants, then its wings he gets. He is very picky and if I can get him to eat something, I am one happy momma. If you all think about it, please say a prayer for my oldest son. He is having a rough time. All the stuff that has been going on with my father-in-law and with Fisher is really starting to get to him. He talked to me about Fisher yesterday. He says he can see signs that Fisher is going back to the way he was prechemo. It made him feel a little better that Fisher has an appointment with his neurologist on the 28th. Lone Star is going to be in concert that day, and I might surprise Josh and take him to the concert. That day is also my 17th anniversary, but, I don't think Robbie has anything planned. Anyway, please say a prayer for Josh. Being 15 is hard enough without all this extra stress. (I also have an appointment for Josh to see his doctor) My middle son Wayne, the gentle giant, is doing great. We just have 4 weeks before we know if he will make it to high school. This year he took 7th and 8th grade at the same time. He has wonderful, wonderful teachers and they have helped him through it all. Either way it goes, I am so proud of him for trying so hard. Well that is it from us for today. I hope you all have a great afternoon. We love you all, Carolyn and Fisher Today's Fisherism: "Happiness is: my Spyro game, my chicken wings and my mommy". UPDATE: 5-17-04 Good morning everyone! It is a beautiful, beautiful day here in Virginia! I hope you all had as wonderful of a weekend as we did. Friday night we went to Relay for Life. The picture above is Fisher clowning around with some of his new friends. :) He is laughing and having a grand ol' time, in the picture. I am taking the picture and I am on the brink of tears. I am so very thankful for the honor of being Fisher's mom. He is the sweetest and one of the bravest kids I have ever met. When they put the survivor sash on him, I was filled with such gratitude that he is a survivor. Then I thought of all the kids we have lost to this terrible illness, and I was so very sad. I just know that but for the grace of God go I. My prayers are with the friends and families. At the Relay, our little FishieBug was a wildman. I don't know who was more tired, Fisher or myself. All the way home he kept saying "Mommy I am soooo sooooo tired!" But we had a wonderful time. It was so nice to see all of our friends. We were so tired, we ended up sleeping until 11 on Saturday. That is so late for us. We missed going back and walking again Saturday morning. Then on Sunday, we went over my sister's house and Fisher played in the swimming pool for hours. He had such a wonderful time. Of course he loves his Aunt Terrie and his cousins so much. :) Tiffany and Jodi (his cousins) just cater to him like he is a prince or something and he just eats it up. :0) He does have very loving and caring cousins. I am so proud of them. Finally, today, he is back at school. Mom can take a break.. after I wash all the clothes, do the dishes, vacuum the house, make the beds, go to the grocery store....... Break? Who am I kidding? :) Have a wonderful day. Thanks for checking on us. We love you all, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 5-13-04 Good Morning all :). Thanks to all who listened to my vent yesterday. One of the things listed on Fisher's 'wish' list is to meet his favorite country music star. Well, I am sure you all know that his favorite is Keith Urban. ( followed by Shania and Toby) Well Keith's official fan club has taken on Fisher as thier special project. I wrote to them to ask if they knew of a way to get Fisher in just to meet him. They are doing everything they can to make it happen. I am so touched by their messages in Fisher's guestbook, the emails I have gotten, and the posts on their webpage. One of the things I have been constantly amazed about, is the kindness and goodness of people. I have seen it more and more since Fisher has been sick. For example, the way you all visit all the kids pages who are sick, and leave them messages. Or the way everyone rallied around Fisher to find him a replacement "Tori". When my friends on AOL heard about Fisher and that he had to start chemotherapy, we had three different groups of people step in and do things just to send some encouragement. (Thanks to July 98 Moms, Extreme Parenting Moms and my trivia friends in the SpkEz) Right after the hurricane, I am sure you all will remember how I was about to snap worrying about the bills and all.. somehow, the right person read about it and told our Social Worker. Our Social Worker put us in touch with the right people to help us. I could just go on and on lisiting all the people who have shown us extraordinary kindness. To Keith Urban's fan club, Fisher sends out a huge thank you. He says he wishes that he could hug you all. He promises to give Keith an extra big hug from you all should he get to meet him. Thank you ALL for all the love and support you give us each and everyday. I am so blessed to have you all in my life. Have a wonderful day! Love and Hugs, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 5-12-04 Hello everyone! Sorry it has been so long since I have updated. I have started a million times and I end up stopping. Maddie's passing really took me off guard. I had to take a moment and regroup. She was an amazing young lady and she will be greatly missed. Fisher's appointment went pretty good with the doctor on Monday. We learned that we are going to start going to the brain tumor clinic instead of the hemoc clinic. It will be a bit different not being with all Fisher's friends, but change is good. His new nurse is a real sweetie. We will miss Teresa terribly though. She has been a rock for me. There have been times I really thought I was going to fall apart, and she helped me hold it together. I don't know if she reads Fisher's page, but if you are reading this Teresa, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU HAVE DONE. WE LOVE YOU! Anyway, back to Fisher's visit. The concenus of everyone there is "Fisher looks GREAT". I, of course agree! I got the official report of his MRI back and the tumors are stable. (Thank God!) We are still watching him carefully, for any symptoms. I think he is still showing some, but, I guess we need to figure out if they are tumor, tumor damage, NF related, or what. As of now, the plan is to watch the MRIs, and watch him. After hearing about Jakie and then Maddie, I am inclined to beg them to do something to keep the tumors shrinking. When I ask I am told "Oh he has NF, the tumors act differently with NF". Well it still scares me to death. There are some days I get so scared I can hardly breathe. When one of the brain tumor kids earn their Angel wings, it just tears us apart. We know that it is only by God's grace we still have Fisher here. I don't know where I am going with this, but, please say a prayer for the families who have lost their children. Also please pray for the kids and families still here. I must thank you all again for all your prayers and support. We appreciate it so much. Don't forget about Fisher's Postcard Challenge. :) I am also working on something very HUGE for Fisher. As soon as I know more, I will post about it. But it is HUGE, it is WONDERFUL and it is one of Fisher's wishes. That is another thing I am trying to do this summer. Fisher has this "list" of things he wants to do. His "Wish List". These are not things he wants but things he wants to do. Some of the wishes have been granted such as: Riding on a firetruck (thanks to Danny and the CFD), going to Disney (a HUGE, HUGE thank you to Make-a-Wish), he met one of the Power Rangers (thanks again Danny). [ side note here, Fisher got to meet the Blue Ranger from the Time Force Rangers.] Another wish was to see the beach he got to do that too. (Thanks to 'Aunt' Donna) Some of his other wishes are: For all his friends that are sick, to be well again. To ride a pony. To see jet airplanes upclose. To go to a Dallas Cowboy football game. To meet his favorite country music singer. To go to a real baseball game. To meet Tori. (Blue Ranger from Ninja Storm) To eat Dominoes BBQ Wings. (this is one he gets almost every other day. The local Dominoes knows us by name.) These are just a few. I am going to make the best of every single day I have with him and his brothers. Life is too short not to. Thanks for reading this far and 'listening' to my ramblings. You all mean so much to us. Thanks for checking on us. Have a wonderful evening! Love and Hugs, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 5-8-04 Good afternoon everyone!! Happy Friday! Today Fisher was in the Special Olympics for his school. He had so much fun! He placed 4th in kicking the ball and he was second in the 25 meter relay. I had fun watching all the kids. After the relay race, they gave Fisher is little tag to go and get his 2nd place ribbon. When the lady wasn't watching, he switched it. After he and I had a little chat about being honest, he decided it would be best to take the first place ribbon back and tell the lady what he did. He apologized and asked for a second place ribbon. I am so proud of him for making the choice to give the ribbon back. (I do realize he shouldn't have done it to begin with) That's it for today. I hope all the moms have a Happy Mother's Day! My sister is taking me to see "Lord of the Dance" I am so excited! I have been wanting to see it for about 6 or 7 years. So, y'all have a great weekend! We love you all, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 5-6-04 Good evening everyone! I'm sorry it took so long to update, but, here it is.............Fisher's tumors are STABLE!!!! I am so very thankful. We needed to hear some good news. Thankfully we did. His nurse called me with the preliminary results. I will get the full report on Monday when we meet with Dr. B. Monday can't come soon enough for me because his nosebleeds have started up again. They are pretty bad too. The dr plans on running a test to see if his platelets are functioning correctly. (His counts were perfect on Monday.) Tomorrow is Special Olympics day. Fisher's events will be running and kicking a ball. He is so excited about it. I will try and post pictures tomorrow. Fisher is loving getting postcards from everyone. If you get the chance, he would love to hear from you! Thanks for checking on us! We love you all, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 5-3-04 Good evening everyone! We are finally back from the hospital. Everything went good. We should have the results of the MRI before the end of the week. As soon as I know, I will let you guys know. Fisher is excited about the postcard project. He looks forward to getting mail in his postbox. I hope you all have a wonderful night. Love yall, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 4-28-04 Hello everyone. Thank you all for all your kind guestbook entries and emails. They really mean a lot to us. We finally told Fisher about his grandpa. He got teary eyed for a few mins, then he asked if he would ever see him again. I told him that he would when we all go to heaven. That made him feel better. As for Fisher's nosebleeds, well, we are on day 2 with no nosebleeds at all. Thank goodness!! Your prayers are with my Bug, I know it. Thank you all so very much. We love you all, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 4-26-04 Good afternoon everyone. First of all, I want everyone to know that Fisher is doing okay. Those nosebleeds are really starting to worry me, but, I'm calling the clinic in the morning. Hopefully, they will be able to do the test sometime this week. Next, it is with great sadness I tell you that 10:20 am, my Father-in-Law passed away. He went the way he wanted to, quietly in his sleep. We are all deeply saddened by this, but, there is peace knowing he is no longer suffering. Thank you for all your prayers for him. We love you all, Carolyn UPDATE: 4-24-04 Hello everyone. Happy Saturday to you all! Today is yet another beautiful day in Va!! We had a few rain storms last night, but today, it is beautiful out. Fisher is doing okay. I am a bit worried about him. He keeps having these terrible nosebleeds. Any where from 3, 4 or 5 a day. We are due back in the clinic in 2 weeks, but I don't that it can wait. I am trying not to be a paranoid, neurotic mom. Its hard but I am trying. This has really got me concerned. Something else that is 'concerning' me is, Fisher is off chemo for now. His tumors have shrunk, and I am thankful for that. But, they are still there. He really isn't in remission, he is just off chemo. Its hard to explain. To me, he is still showing signs of the tumor. He still gets choked, he stumbles, and here lately he is getting tired quick. He will go to school, come home, play for an hour, then take a 3 or 4 hour nap. Then he will get up, play for about two hours and then sleep all night. Now granted when he is awake, he is going full steam ahead, he is bouncing off the walls. But, when he crashes, he crashes. I truly hope it is my imagination. I am trying so hard not to read into anything. He has an MRI on the 3rd. I pray we get some answers then. All the cards Fisher gets really makes him so happy. I truly appreciate it. There is a Sunday School class in Pa, that sends Fisher cards they have made. He loves them. Now with everyone's kind indulgence, I want to try something new for him. Whenever we go to Walmart, he loves to look at the postcards. So..... I thought it would be neat to see how many different postcards he can get from different states and countries. If you think of it, and you have time, would you drop a postcard to him? Thanks so much!! Thank you all for checking on us. We love you all. Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 4-20-04 Hello everyone. Well it is sunny and beautiful here in Virginia. It is so nice to finally have some sunshine. Fisher is still having a few issues, the main one right now is with nosebleeds. He gets a pretty significant nosebleed at least 3 times a week. When we go back to the clinic, they are going to run some tests on him. There are days when he is doing so great, I *almost forget what he has been through. But then, there are days when I wonder what is going on. Hopefully, his next MRI will put my mind at ease. (Well, somewhat anyway.) That's about it for today. I hope you all watch Maddie tonight on Decorating Cents on HGTV tonight. I know Fisher and I will be watching ;). Y'all take care. We love you all. Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 4-15-04 Good morning everyone. The sun is finally shining here in Chesapeake!! It is chilly, but the sun is shining. Things here are calm. I'm almost afraid its the calm before the storm. Fisher is doing pretty good. He has become very clingy. He will climb up in my lap and cuddle right before his nap. Of course, I am not complaining. I love to cuddle with him. He loves to do the line from Brother Bear where the bears are saying "You're so goregous" then "No, you're goregousERRRRR" He cracks me up. Fisher got the sweetest package from Cheyenne for Easter. He has carried the little stuffed animal around everywhere. :) So thank you so much Cheyenne. I hope you all have a great day! Thanks for checking on us. Love, Carolyn UPDATE: 4-11-04 Happy Easter everyone! Im sorry I haven't updated before now. Things have been so busy around here. I want to thank everyone who sent Fisher replacement Tori's. I am so thankful to have such wonderful friends. Fisher was so surprised that so many of you helped him out. My father-in-law has taken a turn for the worst. He is now in a nursing home and is on hospice care. It is so sad. My husband and I are heartbroken. Please pray that my father-in-law doesn't suffer. Now to the topic of Fisher. Hmmm I really don't know what to say. We are trying so hard not to be paranoid, but, to us, he is becoming very symptomatic. We go to the clinic tomorrow for counts and early next month he has a follow up MRI. I am praying so hard that his tumors stay stable. Thank you again for all your kindness to us. I don't know how I would make it without you all. Love and prayers, Carolyn UPDATE: 3-29-04 Good afternoon everyone! Boy it is so cold in Chesapeake today! I can't wait for some consistent warm weather. Yeah, I know, three months from now, I will be saying, "Boy I'd love some cold weather!" But right now it is so cold and dreary out, I can't help but wish for some sunshine. Like the weather, I am a bit dreary today. Over the weekend, we on Caringbridge, lost yet another child to cancer. Maxie is now an angel :(. I really struggle to understand why all these wonderful kids have to suffer so much. If you get a chance, please go by, and sign his guestbook. As you can imagine, his family is heartbroken. I am sure they could appreciate the words of encouragement. Fisher is still doing great. I keep watching him like a hawk, wondering if any of those dreaded symptoms will come up. He is tripping and stumbling a lot, and he gets choked on the just about anything. But, these are things that have been on going through all of this. I try not to overreact, but it sure is hard not to. I need to say some thank yous too. First of all to Fisher's Old Country Buffet Buddy, Chipper, thank you so much for the Tori!! Fisher was so surprised. It was so thoughtful of you and your mommy to get it for him. Secondly to the Third Grade CCD Class at St. Sebastian Church, thank you so much for the cards. Fisher loved them all. They all were so wonderful. Thank you so much. Another word of news, Fisher's grandpa is coming home today. HOME!! Not a nursing home. Once again he amazed everyone and bounced back. We of course know its because of the prayers you all prayed for him. Thank you so much. Later this afternoon, I will go and get him and bring him home. Thank you again for all your prayers. Thanks for checking on us. I hope you all have a great afternoon. I sure hope you all are warmer than we are!! :) We love you all, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 3-24-04 Hello everyone. I just got Fisher's Spring pictures from school. Isn't he so handsome? I have some special prayer requests please. Maxie is in the hospital and is very sick. Please pray for him. Savannah is home on hospice and will be earning her wings soon. Jake is very sick. Lindsey's mom lost her baby, please pray for the entire family. Fisher's Grandpaw is back in the hospital, and we are being faced with some pretty hard decisions. Thank you for checking on us. Have a GREAT day! Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 3-18-04 Good Evening everyone! Sorry I am updating so late, but we have had a very busy day!! It started off this morning with our visit to the chemo lab. The visit with Dr B went as well as we thought it would. Fisher's counts are great and he is doing great. While we were there, Fisher got a huge surprise. Sarah, a young lady going through chemo herself, surprised Fisher with not one, but two Tori's! :) He was so excited!! He was very excited to see Sarah for one thing. But to see Sarah, and get Tori?? WOW!! He was in 7th Heaven. Sarah, if you are reading this, he saw the picture I posted, and he said you are beautiful :) I agree whole heartedly. Thank you so much for making today so special for him. (Please thank your mom again too) After the appointment, I went to see my father in law, and hold on to your hats..... he is coming home tomorrow!! This is a man who last week, we really thought wouldn't be with us much longer. He was so sick. Now he is coming home. God is so good to us. I am just amazed at God's goodness. I visited for a bit with my father in law, then I was off again. I picked Fisher up and we went to the St Baldwicks Day Celebration. We got there, and not only was Sarah there, but Loren and Lindsey was there. (This was a BIG BIG deal for Fisher) He just had the best time. Then he got to help cut Dr Owen's hair. Fisher loved doing that. It just made me so happy to see Fisher so happy. I am going to try and get some new pictures on the photo page by tomorrow night. Thank you for checking on our Fishie Bug. I am just so overwhelmed by the response concerning Tori. I am so blessed to have such wonderful, thoughtful friends. Thank you all for making my boy so happy. We love you all, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 3-16-04 Good evening everyone! Fisher's appointment went great today. I had my days mixed up on the clinic visit though. That is tomorrow. Today Fisher saw his neurologist. He agrees that Fisher is doing great. Fisher's grandpaw is doing a bit better too. He has his NG tube out. He needs to be fed, but it is out and he is talking to us. Tonight was a touching moment for me because he hugged my husband, and said those magic words my husband has been waiting to hear: "I love you". When we left, Grandpaw was sleeping. It was a special moment, and I will never forget it. Tomorrow is Fisher's appointment with his oncologist. I know it is going to go as smooth as today went. Thank you for checking on us. We love you all! Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 3-15-04 Good Morning everyone!! First order of business, thanks to all of you looking for Tori. We spent the better part of Sunday afternoon looking for her. I couldn't find her either. The quest is still on. Also, my father-in-law is still in the hospital, and not expected to make it much longer. :( They had to put a feeding tube in. I can tell you that was one of the most heart wrenching things I have ever witnessed. Please keep him in your prayers. Thank you. Fisher is doing great. He still worries me because he gets choked on stuff so easily. And he still falls a lot. But, other than that, he is doing great. Actually he is doing better than great. He is like a little whirlwind. I need skates to keep up with him. I am just so thankful he is better now. He has two appointments tomorrow. One with his neurologist, and one at the clinic. I am sure they will both be great. :) Thank you all for all your prayers, love and support. I don't know where we would be without them. UPDATE: 3-8-04 Good Morning all!! It is such a beautiful day here in Va. We had some horrible storms last night. But as Fisher said this morning when he opened his eyes, "Good morning! It's a beautiful day!!" (He has said this nearly every morning for the past 3 years) Then he sang his Keith Urban song. :-) He is something else. I told him about all of you looking for Tori (the blue ranger) for him. He said, "See Mom, I have GREAT friends! Someone will find it for me." He just loves you all so much. I want to say thank you to all of you who are looking. I know it is a small thing, but anyone who has been with him at the chemo clinic knows how important Tori is to him. Just a small update on Fisher's Grandpaw, he is still very sick. So, please if you think about it, say a prayer for him. Thanks. Well, that is it from Chesapeake, Va. Have a wonderful day. As Jimmy Ray says, "Go out and enjoy the day God gave you!" Love, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 3-4-04 Happy Thursday everyone!!! Wow, life without chemo is so nice! Fisher is doing great. Now that he doesn't feel 'sick' all the time, he is really showing his personality. :) I never realized just how sick the chemo made him feel because he hid it so well. Now that he has been off for awhile, he is really showing us that he is your typical 5-year old. We do have a minor crisis going on though. He begged me to get on his webpage and tell everyone. It seems we have lost 'Tori the Blue Ninja Power Ranger'. Not only have we lost her, every store we have checked around is out. (They have phased out the Ninja Storm Power Rangers and now the Dino-Rangers are in) His request is to see if any of you can find her for him. Tori is very special to us because she helped him through most of his chemotherapy visits. I asked him if he missed going to the clinic. He said he misses his friends, but, he doesn't miss the chemotherapy at all. We have our next visit to the clinic on the 17th. I am sure that he will get nothing but great news! Please continue to pray for Fisher's grandpaw. He is still very sick. He is home now, but, he is not doing all that great . Have a wonderful weekend!! We love you all!! Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 2-26-04 Good evening everyone! I am so sorry it has taken me so long today to update. We got back early from Washington, DC, so I had to rush up to the hospital to visit with my father-in-law. Our day started very early. Like 3 am early. Our appointment was at 11:30 am, so we needed to leave before the crack of dawn. We were about an hour outside of DC when Fisher just had to stop at his favorite 'on-the-road' place to eat: Cracker Barrel. He just loves that place. Anyway, even with stopping, we got the the hospital early. Which was a miracle in and of itself because the traffic in Washington DC is a nightmare. I do mean a NIGHTMARE!!! Well, Dr. Packer was kind enough to take us in early, and he reviewed Fisher's films. He took the one MRI Fisher had right before starting chemo, and then took the one Fishie just had. Then he did the normal neurological exam. Then he showed us something completely amazing. The tumors in Fisher's brain stem are much smaller! So for now, we feel better about stopping the chemo. The tumors have done some damage to his brain, but, it is nothing that we can't handle. I really want to thank all of you for praying so faithfully for my Fishiebug. I also want to thank all the wonderful wonderful doctors and nurses at CHKD. I do know that without them, I would not have my Fisher here today. But mostly, I want to thank God for His wonderful goodness to us. Thank you all again. Have a wonderful night. We love you all, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 2-25-04 Good afternoon everyone. Well, today is the day. We go to meet with the Dr in Washington. I am so nervous about it. Please pray that we have a safe trip, and that we get some answers about Fisher's condition. I will be sure to update when we get home. Thank you for all the get-wells. I am feeling much better. Things happen so fast around here, I really don't have time to stay sick. I have another special prayer request. Fisher granddad is in the hospital and he is very sick. Please pray that the decisions that are made regarding his care are the right ones. Thanks for your love, support and prayers. We love you all, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 2-20-04 Good morning everyone :) Well I think we are in for round three of the stomach bug. Fisher has diaherra again this morning. Now all three boys are sick. Josh and Wayne both have severe colds. Just in time for the weekend. Fisher wants to thank everyone for all the cards that have been sent. He got a special package from NC, so thank you Kylie for the stuff, he loved it. Anyway, I will update again after we go to the doctor today. Have a wonderful day! We love you all!! Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 2-19-04 Good afternoon everyone. I really want to apologize for not updating sooner. Fisher seems to be over that stomach bug completely, thank goodness. But, now, I have some sort of bug. Not a stomach one thankfully, but I really don’t feel good at all. We got some snow here on Monday. So I changed Fisher’s appointment at the clinic. We go on Friday now. We also have an appointment to go to DC to see the doctor there. That is on Wednesday. Hopefully by next Thursday, I will have some sort of an idea what is next for Fisher. As for Fisher, well, I don’t know what has come over him. He is eating us out of house and home J. The guys at Dominio’s now refer to him as the “Wing King”. For the past few weeks, he has ate a ton of goulash and BBQ wings. I think he is having some sort of connection with all his buddy’s on high levels of steroids or something. The thing is, when he was on Decadron, his appetite went down. We are hopeful that on Friday he will finally weigh more than 36 pounds. Fisher wants to thank those of you who have sent him cards. He loves going to his post office box and getting cards. Thank you all, you just have no idea how happy it makes him. If you get the chance to drop a card in the mail for him, or any of the Caringbridge kids, please do. It really brightens up their day! Thanks for checking on us. If I don’t update sooner, I will let y’all know how things go on Friday. Have a great evening!!! Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 2-11-04 Good afternoon everyone. Today went pretty good. Fisher is finally feeling a little better. He still has a nasty cough though. But not anything serious. We still don't know anything about chemotherapy. We are in a holding pattern of sorts. We are still considering talking to the doctors at Duke, but first we are going to consult Fisher's doctor in DC. Even though it seems like a lot of here and there stuff, we should know something by the end of the month. Fisher's counts were good, but his phosphorus is low. Nurse Kim gave me a sheet of foods that should bring his phosphorus back up. Only there is one problem...most of the foods on there are dairy based. Can't anything with him be simple?? With his dairy allergy, that is all we need. We did get some alternate foods to try too, one of the big things on the list was pasta. One of his favorite foods. Oh and Coke is on there too. We spent the morning at the clinic, and then he got treated to lunch at Fudruckers. We got home around 1:30 and he fell asleep, and slept until 4:00. Anyway, that is our day. Not much happening with us. I hope you all have a nice evening. Fisher wanted me to say hello to all his chemo-pals from the clinic and all his Buddies. If you get the chance, to night please visit Fisher's cyber-buddy Chance. You will be blessed by the faith, courage and wisdom this amazing young man has. His website is: http://www.childrenofpromise.net/chance.html/. (Don't forget to tell him Fisher sent ya when you sign his guestbook) Have a wonderful evening. We love you all, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 2-9-04 Good Morning everyone. Boy it was a long weekend. Fisher still has whatever bug, he had last week. Just when we think he is feeling better, it hits him again. I am so glad he has an appointment at the clinic tomorrow. Right now, he is sitting on the bed eating a few crackers and watching PBS Kids. Please pray he gets better soon. We are starting a new project for him. We want to see how many different places he can get either post cards or letters from. If you get the chance, could you please drop him either a card or a letter? He loves getting mail in his Post Office box. Thank you so much for checking on us :) Have a wonderful day! Love, Carolyn UPDATE: 2-6-04 Hello everyone. I have tried to update several times, but I keep getting sidetracked. The long and short of it is, Fisher did much better for his second MRI. He has whatever stomach virus it is going around. We got the preliminary results back, the tumors are unchanged. I know that should read, "The tumors are unchanged!!!" But, I am so dissappointed. While I am grateful they arent bigger, I sure hoped they were smaller. This means there is still no where for the tumors to go if they start growing again. Any growth whatsoever could be disastrous. Thanks for checking on us. Have a great evening. Carolyn UPDATE: 2-4-04 Hello everyone. I thought I would do a quick update, since I know so many of you were waiting on the news of the MRI. Well, we came in today for a simple MRI. We all know by now that nothing with Fisher is simple. He wasn't feeling all that great this morning when we got here. They decided though, that he was well enough to do the MRI. Well, after three doses of Nubutal, he still woke up after only 30 mins. So, we had to reschedule. Well, while we were waiting for the rescheduling, he got worse, and he now has a fever, and severe diaherra. So, now we are here, getting IV fluids and antibotics. Thankfully his counts are high enough that we can go home. We will try to do the MRI again tomorrow. Thanks for checking on him. Have a great night, Carolyn UPDATE: 1-30-04 Hello everyone. Well, Fisher had his bloodwork appointment today, and SURPRISE, SURPRISE, they came back good. I was so relieved! Shocked, but relieved. He sure has been acting like his counts are low. Thankfully, they were up. :) I did have a chance to talk with his doctor more today about the chemo and stopping it. I expressed my concerns, especially since Fisher still seems to be symptomatic. He said that those symptoms could be part of the damage the tumor has done to his brain. Boy, I didn't like hearing that. I did appreciate him telling me that though. He did explain things a bit better today. I can't say that it made me feel 'better' about things. It did make me feel more informed. I guess. Fisher's MRI is on Tuesday, and then we go from there. Thanks for checking on us. If you have time, please sign the guestbook. Fisher loves hearing from all his friends. Have a great weekend, Carolyn *** PS Fisher wants to congratulate his swimming buddy, Jessie, for graduating from Paris Island this week!! Congratulations Jessie!! We are all very proud of you!!! *** UPDATE: 1-26-04 Good Morning from snowy Chesapeake!! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We are doing pretty good. WE HAVE SNOW!! Okay, okay, its only 4 inches. But it is snow nontheless! I love the snow.:) Let me rephrase that, I love *looking at the snow. I hate, hate, hate HATE driving in it. I had to take Robbie to work this morning, and I decided right then and there, I am going to do something, I haven't done in 66 weeks. I am going to reschedule Fisher's clinic appointment today. I hope they can fit him in tomorrow. He needs to have bloodwork done. We gotta make sure they are up so he can be sedated next week for his MRI. But, I'd rather wait till tomorrow to do the counts, than risk getting in an accident today. For all of you who regularly visit Fisher's website thank you so much. It reall means a lot to us to have the love and support of our friends. Fisher has a special request... If you come and visit, please sign the guestbook. He loves seeing all the messages. Thanks for checking on us have a great day! Love, Carolyn and Fisher UPDATE: 1-20-04 Good evening everyone. Well, Fisher made it through his last chemotherapy in this protocal. I know I should be happy, but, I feel so nervous about it. Its a strange sort of nervousness. Its like........... ummm I can't describe it. I really feel from the depths of my soul that if we stop, this monster of a tumor will take off again. I don't think that is the neurotic mom in me, it is just a gut feeling I have. I pray that I am wrong. His MRI is scheduled for Feb. 3. So, we will know more after that. His blood counts were low too. His HGB was 8.9, ANC was 1410 and Platelet count was 310 (platelets are always good, thank the Lord) Thank you all for your prayers and support. I so appreciate them. Love, Carolyn UPDATE: 1-19-04 Well, here we are, January 19, 2004. In a few mins we will leave, and Fisher willhave his last "official" chemotherapy treatment. Next week he will have a MRI, then we are sending everything off to Duke. His MRI scans, reports everything. Hopefully they will find something new to help him. His tumor is still there. He is still somewhat symptomatic. Maybe after today we will have some sort of direction of what is happening next. Thank you for your prayers and support. I REALLY need them today. ADDED: 1-17-04 Fisher is 5 years old and suffers from Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma and Spinal Cord Tumors. Current Update: Fisher is doing fairly good. He keeps running a low grade fever (99.8). So I am hoping that we make it through the weekend without a trip to the ER. Oppps! Gotta go, he needs me. Have a great weekend! Love, Carolyn Introduction: Tuesday, August 5, 2003 9:28 PM My name is Carolyn, and Fisher is my four...... excuse me, FIVE year old son. Fisher has an inoperable brain stem/spinal cord glioma. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy at CHKD. Over the course of time, I will back track and give the full story on Fisher and how we got where we are now. Currently, he is at the half way point of his protocal. As his doctor says, its better than being at the 1/4 point. Fisher has a team of wonderful doctors. They are so patient.... with both of us. I am your classic neurotic mother. Fisher breathes "wrong", Im worried. He stumbles some I worry. His doctors patiently help me wade through what is "normal" and what isn't. I will try to update often. Thanks for reading! Have a blessed day!