Fischers

Sad news

2008-06-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

Willa's battle with cancer is over. She passed away peacefully tonight June 25th at home surrounded by her loving family. In this difficult time, the family would appreciate no visitors or calls, food or flowers. Cards are welcome. The Fischers are grateful for all your love and support throughout this last year.
There will be a service in honor of Willa at the Denver Botanic Gardens on Tuesday, July 1 at 1 PM. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Relay for Life or the Raymond Wentz Foundation. For information on Relay for Life please access the following link:
http://relay.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RelayForLifeGreatWestDivision?fr_id=6403&pg=entry&JServSessionIdr009=gknqz70vm1.app315a (team name "butterfly kisses")
For information on the Raymond Wentz Foundation please access the following link:
http://raymondwentz.org

These days

2008-06-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

Willa has remained in great spirits and has continued to find enjoyment in her life even as she experiences increasing fatigue and weakness. Our days are filled with videos, stories, taking care of the babies (Oscar, Frank and the gang), Polly Pockets (thanks to a very generous loan from our special neighbor friend Ava), games, and art. She brightens up for a little time with Emily (our nanny) each week but her circle has grown smaller as she seems to prefer to play quietly up on the third floor. The last few days have been harder for her. More sad than happy as she seems to be struggling just a little bit more. We stay close and offer her all of our love and comfort and the thoughts, love, and support from all the family and friends who have been here for us all through the year.

Update

2008-06-01T17:17:00.001-07:00

Willa's condition has started to drastically change over the last week. She has lost much of her appetite and has very little energy. Her breathing is very fast although she is not distressed and appears at peace and comfortable most all of the time. She still has many giggles and her spirits are good. Hospice care was started this week and our time is very focused on her immediate needs leaving us little time to answer the phone or talk to those who have loved and helped us through this difficult year. Our deepest and most humble thanks to all for your relentless support.

Princess Hero Party and Hawaii Vacation

2008-05-21T19:12:00.000-07:00

Each of these wonderful things deserve an entry of their own but our energy at the end of the day is a little low (which is great because we have been able to enjoy the most fantastic and happy moments with sweet Willa) so to be able to share with you all as much as possible-an abridged version is needed.

On May 3rd, Willa celebrated her triumph of the past year. While we are so deeply saddened by the outcome-she remains innocent and so happy. And it is this triumph of spirit that so desperately deserved a celebration-for our little hero. But-being Willa-a hero party alone was not enough-as we were designing the evites-it became clear-a princess hero party was what we really needed. Our deepest gratitude to Linda DelBianco (our fairy godmother) at the Denver Athletic Club who planned, orchestrated and put on the most fabulous Princess Party imaginable. Jumpy castle, face painting, and more pink than you can believe-it was beyond any expectations-the mood was happy and joyous-Willa had the time of her life and the support and love of friends was overwhelming. Our dear friend Meg (in her debutante dress) made a cake castle that Cinderella herself would have envied (along with a carriage made of foam board) and many of the grown ups went all out for the theme-the Hebens were Mouseketeers, the Stevensons were Snow White and two dwarves, Steph Grayson wore her prom dress, Angela S as a blue bee hived fairy god mother-and Henry and I-at Willa's request were Sleepeing Beauty and Prince Phillip (respectively). A fabulous event for such a special Princess.

Right after Willa jet setted to Oahu to meet up with Grammy Sony, Grampy Conrad, the McFischers, and Aunt Mouse. A special package from St. Louis girls was waiting with an Ariel set of fins and goggle, intertubes, sand toys. After that the biggest challenge of each day was to get Willa out of the pool or ocean. We were a little concerned that she might actually be growing gills. Some memorable moments included a luau, swimming with the cousins, and endless sand castles. Time stood still and the days are forever imprinted on our memories.

Now settling back into routine around Denver-music class, family visits, daily outings. Willa has maintained a great appetite and good energy. We treasure our time each day with her being present in these moments and send our deepest thanks to all who have kept us in their prayers, hearts, and minds.

Willa's Trip to Disney

2008-04-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Make a Wish Foundation and Give Kids the World Village-Willa took her parents and Harper to a wonderful 5 day trip to Orlando. We saw the Magic Kingdom (and special thanks to all of our Disney veteran friends whose tips, tricks, and cautions provided us with that extra help to maximize our short adventure), Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Sea World and even had a day to relax by the pool, enjoy ice cream at the Village, and celebrate Mayor Clayton's birthday (the giant rabbit who is the mayor of Give Kids the World). Willa was a bundle energy-on the go, always wheedling "one more ride Daddy" (she knew she did not need to negotiate with Mom), and eating all the ice cream, smoked turkey legs, funnel cakes, and popcorn her little belly could possibly hold. It is difficult to say which parts of the trip she liked best. When you ask her she often start to talk about the rides we went on that were too scary (Snow White's Scary Adventure or as Henry likes to cal it Snow White's trip gone bad)-and with big eyes tell about the eyes of the forest and the queen with the frozen apple. When given choices-lunch with the Princesses, her private visit with Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Cinderella, the magic carpets of Arabia, Peter Pan's flight, the tea cups (please no more spinning rides for Mom and Dad), the train ride, the Tiki room, well she loved them all!

And we are so indebted to the Make a Wish Foundation and Give Kids the World Village-who arranged this wonderful and special trip for Willa at very short notice, somehow managed to get a reservation to the princess lunch, and made sure she never waited in a line and got all the special attention she could possibly want from everyone (Princesses, Disney guys, Pooh and friends, Jiminy Cricket) at the parks.

This trip brought Willa such sheer joy and wonder and gave us some very precious memories and for this we are grateful.

Our Devastating News

2008-04-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, we received the sad news this week that Willa’s cancer has spread to her lungs. Everyone was shocked as Willa has been feeling great and appeared to be responding to her treatment. A number of factors make it extremely unlikely that she would respond to further aggressive therapy, and she would have a high risk of significant side effects. Nobody knows how long she has left, but it is probably several months.

Willa’s 3 and ½ year old mind is blissfully innocent of her medical condition. In fact, she continues to take on the persona of various princesses throughout the day. You have to be quite alert to keep up with her various alter-egos, as well as those she assigns you. Harper is at times baffled as Willa decides Harper will be “Cinderella, Momma, or Willa” all in the matter of a few hours.

We will take a few trips in the next couple of weeks, first to Disney World (April 23rd-28th) where Willa will fulfill her dream of “seeing where the princesses live” and then we will spend some time on the beach (May 5th-14th).

We are greatly saddened by the turn of events but take heart that Willa has generally felt pretty well this past year and had some great experiences. This would not have been possible without medical advances in the treatment of her rhabdomyosacoma over the past few decades and the dedicated and first rate care she received at Children's Hospital by her oncologist Dr. Kerry Moss and all the other physicians, nurses, and staff. Her creativity and strong personality have made an impression on a number of her peers (and our peers).

We have been touched by all the support we have received this past 10 months. We are also very touched by Elma and our Westside friends’ Relay for Life in honor of Willa and in support of those with cancer. We are planning to honor Willa with a hero party (this was planned to celebrate completion of chemo but now more than ever-she deserves a hero party) and we will post evites as soon as we firm up plans.

Your love, support, and prayers have kept us strong throughout,

Stacy, Henry, Willa, and Harper

Updates

2008-02-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

So-my sincere apologies for not updating sooner. Willa continues to be happy, curious, funny, and energetic. Harper is a little imp-much more opinionated and strong willed than her cooperative and ready to please big sis. We had a small set back this last month. ON her routine CAT scan-a blood clot was found in the large vein of Willa's neck. This is a not uncommon complication for little kids with catheters in their veins (mediport) but to prevent the much more serious complication of the blood clot migrating to her lungs-she will need to be on a blood thinner for the next few months. So-another treatment (twice daily injections into a small catheter in her leg) that Willa is just tolerating in such an inspiring way-and she works through it by role playing with her baby doll Oscar (her "brother" which profoundly confused the folks at Children's for quite some time). Meanwhile-Willa has about 10 more weeks of chemotherapy which will be folowed by intense surveillance for some time. We are very hopeful-she looks amazing and very grateful for all of those who have made this incredible journey with us.

November/December Updates

2007-12-10T20:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I am sorry I have not been keeping the site updated quite as often as I would like too-but in this case-no news is definately good news. Novemeber was a fun month-trips to Leadville, playing in the leaves, and a wonderufl visit from the Fischer clan for Thanksgiving. Willa and Harper had a great time playing with their cousins. Willa also found out that she does not like turkey...she loves turkey! After a tough round of chemotherapy earlier in the week-Willa made a wonderful recovery and ate 5 helpings of turkey! December is already off to a great start-she had her Christmas pagent at school, got on skis for the first time, and went to see Disney Princesses on ice with her friend Mia. And, our community at the Denver Athletic Club-including all of the staffa nd Children's Center teachers all wore hats on Thursday December 6th for Wear a Hat for Willa day-a fund raiser for Childrens Hospital in Willa's name-a wonderful show of support that made the Denver Post! http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_7651813

pictures:
1. eliza and willa at brown palace tea
2.willa with oscar (her "brother") and Frank (her "sister")
3. willa and mia
4. willa and harper

October Updates

2007-11-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

I know I have been remiss in keeping things updated. Fortunately, we have very encouraging news to share. Willa is nearly half way through therapy and continues to do well. She has maintained her overall growth curve and developmentally is right on target. Her right eye is showing great lateral movement when she patches and her vision is only mildly impaired (and should improve with continued patching). Her hearing was assessed and despite the fact that we were prepared for her to have total loss on the right, her hearing at this point is largely intact although she will need some surgical repair of the middle ear and ear drum at some point down the road. However, the best news is that the mass showed a 60% reduction in size and that is about as good as we might hope for at this point in her therapy. Harper is also doing well-walking all over and cutting three molars-so a little on the grouchy side these days. Here are some fun Halloween pics.

September Updates

2007-09-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

Now that radiation has finished, we have now settled into a routine of sorts. Henry is back at work 4 days a week and is dividing his time between clinic and his research into improving systems of care for diabetes. Willa goes to the clinic about once a week for chemotherapy and continues to thrive with barely a sign of side effects and with great spirit. We have been up to Leadville several times through the month-hiking, enjoying the aspens, spliting open geodes with the Farrets, and feeding carrots to the neighbors horse We have also had some fun visits-Mouse (my sister) came out and we had a really fun day at the Science Museum with Mouse and her friend Paul who became a fast friend of Willa's after reading Winnie the Pooh. Later in the month-Liz (with little baby Charlie), Jen, and Nicki (Stacy's BFFs from high school) came for a weekend visit-lots of walks, trips to the park, and a fantastic art project-Jen shared her story of when her big sister decorated the eye patches she wore as a child-and well supplied with glitter, googly eyes, and markers-we all (Willa too!) got to be creative and we decorated dozens of patches. Now Willa looks forward to picking out her patch each day! Other highlights from the month include music class with Aunt Shelly and Maddie, walks to the park with our neighbor buddy Ben, a swim date with Rachel and Carson, a trip to Elitch's (amusement park) to celebrate a very successful Walk for the Cure for Diabetes with our friend across the street-Ava, and a tea at the Brown Palace ("is this a palace?") with Stephanie and Mia. Thanks as always to all of our friends and loved ones for your continued prayers, thoughts, and support.

Pictures:
1. Willa building sand castles with moon sand
2. Jenny and Harper in the sand pit
3. Willa-ready to drive the Scout
4. Tea and the Brown Palace with Steph and Mia

2007-08-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

Well our biggest news is that we have finished radiation therapy. All told, Willa sailed through beautifully. But we are very glad to give up the 6:45 am commute to Fitz-even though our wonderful radiaiton oncologist, Dr. Chen did have the best stickers. We had a small party with a lady bug cake for Willa. Her friend Maddie came and we ahd some special visitors this weekend-Uncle Fred, Aunt Heather, and Grandpa Mike came down form the moutains to help celebrate. We went to the zoo, a special repitile petting zoo, had a pony ride, and went swimming at Pirate's Cove-whew! What a fun weekend-Willa and Harper seem to have limitless energy but Henry and I are exhausted. Harper is starting to stand on her own and is showing her colors as a soon to be hell on wheels!

Updates

2007-08-22T14:43:00.001-07:00

Updates

We have had a few great weeks. Willa continues to show signs of progress-her energy level and interest in activities has gradually and steadily increased. And Willa's sense of style once again is back-shorts and a top, winter mittens, two pairs of sunglasses, and a hat-gotta love it. We have also had bits of Willa's pre-illness voice. The other day she sweetly in her little high voice (due to her 10th cranial nerve palsey) asked me where her lemon bread was and then in a much more normal pitch (which in comparison sounded very deep) "Don't eat it mommy". We have kept up with regualr outings and Willa and I did a yoga class the other day adding airplane and headstand to her repetoire (which includes downward dog, happy baby, and tree). Harper is showing her more devilish nature crawling right ot the top of the stairs, or over to the electric socket, or some other dangerous place for a 1 year old, looks up and gives this huge (now toothy) grin and laughs. Guess we might finally have to learn about baby-proofing a house. We have enjoyed having Sonja here through most of the month and had a special visit from the California Fischers (excpet Maddie who was a camp) We went on the requisite weekly trip to the Museum of Science and Natural History to see the nocturnal animals (Willa is a big fan of the ardvark and badger) Betsy, Xander, and I also took Willa to the amusement park to meet her best friend Maddie (Michelle and Mike came too) then Xander and I had some fun on the roller coasters and I was talked into a 150 free fall held only by a harness that may have taken years off my life and was absolutely terrfiying but also really fun. Ginger came out giving Sonja a week's reprieve back in Chicago. We had a lot of fun and made some major progress on the potty trainig front. Henry is going to start back up at Westside in September while I plan to remain off of work for the duration of Willa's treatment.

Pictures

1. Harper learning to walk at the Cherry Creek breakfast

2. Aunt Betsy and Willa

3. The girls in the giant bouncy octopus at the Aquarium

4. Willa and Henry doing their impression of the grumy grouper

5. Ned, Xander, Henry and Willa at the Science Museum

Updates

2007-08-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

We have had a great week. Our dear friend Pieter came out for five days (leaving wife Laurie home with their three little ones so a true family effort) to help us out and bringing his usual exuberance and laughter. Also giving Sonja a much deserved break. Sonja returned Friday and brought Grampie Conrad with her. Willa had such a good time with her Grampie-reading stories and playing. Willa also took a trip to Elitch's garden with her friend Maddie. They played in the water park, took some rides, and strolled around the park. We all had a great time. This week marks the half way point of radiation treatments. Willa is doing better each day-more comfortable and used to the routine-and a little less grouchy after waking from anesthesia. This week, we also go to Chidlren's each day for a chemotherapy infusion. Willa has been a trooper-and starting topartake in the infusion center's fun activities.

Pictures:

1) Harper fed to an angry wild prehistoric boar

2) Pietey giving tutorial on trilobites

3) Maddie and Willa at Elitch's

4) Ben (special neighbor friend) and Willa at the Butterfly pavillion

5) Harper and mom at the Butterfly pavillion

Updates

2007-07-29T14:32:00.000-07:00

Well, we have had a very good week. Mouse (my sister Maria) was here for a visit (recently returned from Japan) giving Sonja (Henry's mom) a well deserved break to return to Chicago. Willa is getting more comfortable with the routine of morning radiation. She knows that she will not be able to eat first thing but that her snacks will be waiting when she finishes. She is also less fearful of poeple using her port to admisiter medication-she calls it "giving her tubey a drink". Willa had a red blood cell transfusion this week to keep her counts high which also went well. We managed a few outings-the zoo, Elitch's, Butterfly Pavillion, and music class. Willa has also conquered her hesitation to urinate and is back on track using the potty! Meanwhile, Harps has gone form a rapid log roll across the floor to a modified scootch on her bottom, "the coyote crawl". Four teeth have broken through but despite this she is in great spirits.

Pictures:
1. Harps at the Butterfly Pavillion
2. Willa trying on a Kimono from Aunt Mouse
3. Willa snuggling her giant stuffed tiger
4. Riding the train with Dad
5. Holding Rosie the tarantula at the Butterfly Pavillion

Fischer Dinner Schedule

2007-07-10T21:04:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, We are so honored and moved by the wonderful meals we have recieved. Thank you so much. One comment we ahve recieved is questions about how to sign up for meals-the best way is to email Michelle at Michelle.Harris@uchsc.edu or Erin at efletter@yahoo.com and they can post it on the spread sheet. We will try to list some days when a meal would be especialy helpful (long clinic day, etc.) Thank you all ever so much.

Updates

2007-07-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

7/16/2007
This is a busy week for little Willa. She is getting daily chemotherapy and had her first day of radiation therapy this morning. She is given sedation during her radiation therapy becuase she must be absolutely still. This is very nice and will ensure no traumatic memories of her treatment. However-I would say she was a little grumpy after her therapy. But after about an hour we could coax a smile and she dove into several bowls of cereal.
We have met some other very nice parents who are also going through treatment. Everyone is so kind and there is some good sharing about how to handle different challenges.
Meanwhile Harps is cutting her first two teeth (thank goodness for Tylenol) and rolling around all over the floor. We assume she will eventually walk and this will not be how she arrives at kindergarden.

Pictures-
1. "Study in straws"
2. Harps getting down on the piano at the Science Museum
3. Willa having fun with bubbles at the Discovery room
4. Harper playing with her new playmate-a giant panda!
5. Willa at a pool party

This Blog's Mission

2007-06-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

We hope that this blog can facilitate communication and collaboration with the people who care about the Fischers and Willa's journey to recovery.