Prayers!

This past week has been a whirlwind for Danny and our family.  We're blown away by the response to a little request for cards.  The cards, packages, well wishes keep rolling in....Thank you! 

Tomorrow, Danny has an MRI.  Please say a prayer for him. 

Check back for a post on Thursday.

WOW!

A HUGE THANK YOU!! Thank you for all of the cards, well wishes, prayers, gifts and donations that have made their way to Danny.  Our family is blown away at the outreach from all over the world.   Danny's 6th birthday is going to be a big one for sure.

We have a few surprises for him this weekend that I will share on Sunday.  More picture to come of him opening cards and gifts.

We are blessed!  Thank you!!

Danny's 6th Birthday!

I have so much to post about today!  Danny's 6th Birthday is on July 25th.  Carley is hoping to gather as many birthday cards as she can for his special day.  The information below is where to send them.  If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email at danielnickersonsjourney@gmail.com.

A HUGE Thank You to all of our supporters! 

Daniel Nickerson

P.O. Box 212

Foxboro, MA 02035

Everything is Awesome!

It's been a long time since I sat down to write about Danny.  Carley is doing an awesome job updating the Facebook page, Danny's Warriors, that I felt funny writing....So far, he is having one heck of a summer.  He's been to the beach, to the Magical Moon Farm in Marshfield, to Cape Cod and many other fun spots.  They don't slow down!

Today was a chemo day.  I haven't been in a while, maybe a month.  Now that summer is in full swing, we were able to make the trip to Boston with Carley and Danny.  I even brought along both of my girls, Mae and Abby.  Mae's a regular at chemo but Abby begged to go and wanted to see what it was all about.  She sat with him while he had is port accessed, she even helped take his blood.  She never let up that she was nervous or worried about him.  Guess its helpful when he is laughing and fooling around the entire time.  He's a different kid since the start of treatments back in November.  He jokes with the nursing staff, does arts and crafts with the other kids and even makes deals with his doctors.  Carley and I both commented that he doesn't even play the video games anymore.  He is so comfortable there.

After our visit with Dr. M, we had lunch and raced down the hall to the Jimmy Fund Clinic.  The Clinic is always busy with tons going on.  We painted more crafts and then had art therapy.  It was a full room of kids playing instruments and singing along.  The song of choice today....Old MacDonald...that is until someone said there was a fox on the farm!  What does the fox say? (that's for you uncle David)  Music therapy followed us into Danny's infusion room.  We had our own session with guitars, keyboards and Lego songs.  What kid would be singing "Everything Is Awesome" while having Chemotherapy pumped into him??? My warrior nephew, Danny. 

We ended our day with ice cream on the way home.  A fun day had by all...who knew we were at Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund Clinic for treatments today???  Amazing what a little fun can do to take your mind off things.


**IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR AN UPCOMING EVENT**
Wicked Good Cause, a community based organization, is hosting a fundraiser on July 19th in support of Danny and another little girl named Delaney.  Tickets are On-Sale now. 
For more information about Wicked Good Cause and how you can help out, please click here.

Details about the event are below.  Please join us for a fun of live music, dancing and special treats on July 19th from 5 PM to 9 PM at the North Hill Country Club in Duxbury.

Fundraiser Info!

We are hosting a Danny's Family Fun Day on May 10, 2014 from 11 AM to 4 PM.  Here are the details below:

Stay tuned for Raffle information and Volunteer Sign Ups.

(If you'd like to donate a raffle item, please contact hayley@herohelpersofamerica.org)

More Good News!

Danny is doing amazing!  He had his 2 month follow up MRI and guess what???  It shrunk again!  So amazing!!  He looks great, feels great and is one happy little guy.

Superstar!

You're a Superstar....

As we waited to be called for Danny's Chemo appointment, Danny played Wii U in the waiting room.  Mario Brothers, of course.  After each game, encouraging words would appear.  You're a Superstar stood out.  Why?  Because he is a Superstar.  He is amazing and he doesn't skip a beat.  Always smiling, joking around and wanting to teach us new things.  Yesterday, I finally learned how to play the Wii....and boy was it fun!

The Jimmy Fund was backed up due to all of the kids having treatments that had fevers.  Scary! We waited for two hours before they decided to let him sit in the waiting area while having his infusion.  Of course while we waited two hours, he sat still.  That is until the infusion started.  He was up and running all over the place while Carley and I chased after him with his IV stand.  My mom and my daughter, Mae, were also with us.  Danny and Mae have so much fun together.  Their laugh is contagious and their energy is endless.

Before infusion we visited with his doctor at the Dana Farber clinic.  He was very animated and excited to have her check his reflexes.  We chatted about a few concerns we were having.  Just yesterday, he complained that his arm and his knee were bothering him.  Any new "thing" scares us.  She did a thorough check up on him and said he looks great and doesn't seem to have anything going on.  Such a relief to us, however, we will keep a close eye on it. 


This past month has flown by in the blink of an eye.  Over school vacation, Danny and all of his cousins went to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch, had pictures taken and even went sledding.  Here are a couple of pictures from the photo shoot!  (Thanks to Auntie Jeannie for organizing!)

This is my favorite picture of the boys.  This is Danny's little brother, Matthew.  He is 4 years old and is just as funny as Danny.  This picture says it all!  I was lucky enough to be in the room when this was taken....However, I'm so bummed that the photographer missed the money shot.  Matthew was hugging and kissing Danny right before she had them pose for this picture.  The bond between  is unbreakable.

 


March is here and we have lots of fun activities going on.  Carley, Dan and the kids went to Camp Sunshine this past weekend.  I'll get some pictures up on the blog from their fun weekend.

Relief!

Today was the day we were dreading.  The day that made us anxious.  We were afraid and uncertain on the drive to Boston.  The ride in was quiet, with a little nervous talk.   We left early enough so we could stop at Toy R Us for a special surprise.  Just a little something to smooth over our transition into Children's and to MRI.  He voiced his fears as I held him in the lobby and waited for the others to come in.  I held him and promised it was going to be okay.  That he was only having some pictures taken.  We walked together to the elevators and up we went to floor #2.  As we took the corner to MRI, I could feel my legs getting weak.  I could feel my body putting on the brakes.  I didn't want to be in this hallway again. It's the place we heard the "news".  The hallway I remember seeing another mother crying in.  The same hallway we cried in.  The one I wandered around tying to call family members.  I could feel the tension as we walked into the waiting room.  It was the place we sat, talked and joked around before hearing the "news".  Here we were again,  just this time we were prepared to hear news about Danny's tumor.   

Shortly after filling out Danny's papers we were ushered out of the room to the prep room.  Carley answered questions while Danny and I played with the TV.  It took a while to get him registered and prepped.  Danny started to cry when he saw Carley in the hospital scrubs.  He told her that he wanted to go home and that he didn't like her outfit.  She amazes me with her ability calm him while she is dying inside.  I watched her rock him, sing to him and reassure him that he was going to be okay.  That she would be right there for him the entire time.  I wanted to cry for her.

The anesthesiologist arrived right at 12 o'clock and whisked them off to the MRI room.  I waited patiently for her to return so we could return to the waiting room to our parents and Dan.  For the next hour, we had lunch and sat in the waiting room.  The nurse called Dan and Carley back to sit with Danny while he slept.  I sat with my parents and talked.  The second I picked up my phone to show them some pictures, Carley arrived.  She looked funny,  with a slight smirk on her face and asked me to take a walk with her.  As we turned the corner into the the hallway she looked at me and told me the best news....The news we needed to hear...The news that we have been praying for....The tumor has shrunk significantly!!  Music to my ears.  I burst in to tears and hugged her as tight as I could.  I whispered into her ear....Our prayers are being answered.  We told our parents the good news.  My mom went to sit with Danny while he slept and I sat with my dad and gave him a big hug.  It was the best feeling to sit in the waiting room and know he is fighting and winning his battle.

He slept for a long time after his MRI.  Once he woke up, we packed up our stuff and went home.  The car ride was much livelier.  A sense of relief filled the air.

Thank you for all of your continued support and prayers!  Please keep them coming. They are being answered!!

Ups and Downs...

It's been a long time since I sat down to write.  We've had such a wonderful month since the last day of Radiation on Dec. 26th.  We've had many family gatherings, celebrated holidays, snowstorms, birthdays and followed Danny on his Make a Wish Trip to Disney World.  He seems to be doing well.  You'd never know he was in a battle against DIPG.  He's energetic, funny, inspiring, positive and happy.

It's hard to imagine three months have past, maybe its because of the holidays.  My courageous nephew has completed 6.5 weeks of radiation, he's gone on a "Make a Wish" trip, and is now gearing up for an MRI on Thursday.

After the holidays, we looked forward to our trip Florida. Carley, Dan, Danny and Matthew left on January 11th.  They had a few days alone and enjoyed Sea World and Universal Studios.  On January 13th we surprised them at Universal Studios...We knew they were going to be in the parade because an extended family member that works for Universal set it up for them.  She also set up our surprise visit.  They were in shock when they saw us standing on the sidewalk.  For the next couple of days we enjoyed all of the Disney Parks.  The kids had a blast going on rides, meeting the characters and being together.  We had an amazing time and non of us wanted the fun to end.  We knew coming home would bring us back to reality.  Chemotherapy and Clinic took place on the following Monday.  During the clinic appointment, the doctor told Carley it was time to schedule the follow up MRI.  We know in our hearts Danny is doing fantastic, but also know that things may not be at as they seem.  We are positive and hopeful yet we are all on edge, worried about the results.  I know how I'm feeling, I can't imagine how everyone else is feeling.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers this week as we prepare for Danny's MRI on Thursday. 



Here is a video of our trip:)

Making a Wish!

Danny and family were picked up early this morning by a limo and taken in to Logan Airport.  Their Pilot met them at the gate and gave them a tour of the cockpit before take off.  They have arrived at their hotel and are already swimming in the pool!  I will update more and will add some photos once I arrive on Monday.  Big things to come for my warrior nephew!  Stay tuned.

Doing great! - Quick update

I am way behind on blogging about Danny!  The holidays were busy with family events, outings and the big snow storm.  We are all so happy to be back in a routine! 

Danny had an amazing Christmas with all of his cousins. Santa was good to him this year!  He finished Radiation on Dec. 26th.  After Radiation, he met most of his cousins in Boston for lunch followed by a special surprise....Disney On Ice.  He loved it!  The best part of being there was seeing him have fun with his cousins.  The younger group of kids sat in front of me (Danny, Matthew, Mae and Abby).  They are such characters.  Every time a vendor would walk by, all four hands would go in the air in hopes the vendor would bring over whatever it might be.  Matthew even yelled out a couple times telling them to come over to us.  They enjoyed snow cones, popcorn and cotton candy.

Danny is doing great.  He had a clinic and chemo appointment this past Monday and the doctors commented on how wonderful he looks. He is running, jumping, smiling and doing all the things a 5 year old should be doing.

I have tons of pictures to post from the holidays and will get that done by the end of this week.  I need my camera ready for next week because.....Danny is going on his Make a Wish trip to DISNEY WORLD:)  He leaves on Saturday for a week of fun....and most of his cousins and family members will be there with him! 

I'll be in touch soon with some pictures and updates from Disney World!