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The Curley Family's Lemonade Stand in honor of Kendall (note the gorgeous banner they had made!)
KENDALL'S PAGE
May 07, 2002-April 11, 2007
Kendall was diagnosed with Stage IV neuroblastoma, a very aggressive childhood cancer, just after his second birthday. He fought with all he had for amost three years, but unfortunately he sucummed to his disease on April 11, 2007, just a month shy of his fifth birthday. Kendall has a twin brother,Zachary, who misses his very much. We all do.
Faith, Gia and Zachary climbing on a "rock" waiting for the walk to start.
Neil, Zachary, Josette, and Gia walking the Challenge path
It was over 95 degrees out... more water was on Zach than in!
We loved camp counselor Jason and his golf cart! The kids and Neil rode it for the last quarter mile or so, but they did the rest of the challenge path (ummm except for the giant hill, but that was short) without help. We weren't the fastest group, but we made it!
SOME FACTS ABOUT PEDIATRIC CANCER:
Childhood cancer is the number one disease killer in children.
Neuroblastoma is the most common cancer in infancy.
Neuroblastoma is the most common extra cranial solid tumor cancer in
children.
Every 16 hours a child with neuroblastoma dies.
There is no known cure for neuroblastoma.
Nearly 70% of those children first diagnosed, have disease that has already metastasized or spread to other parts of the body. When disease has spread at diagnosis and a child is over the age of 2 there is less than a 30% chance of survival.
Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in the US and it
kills more children per year than cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy,
asthma and AIDS combined.
There are 15 children diagnosed with cancer for every one child diagnosed
with pediatric AIDS. Yet, the U.S. invests approximately $595,000 for
research per victim of pediatric AIDS and only $20,000 for each victim of
childhood cancer.
The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) federal budget was $4.6 billion. Of
that, breast cancer received 12%, prostate cancer received 7%, and all 12 major groups of pediatric cancers combined received less than 3%.
Kendall
When I was asked to speak today about Kendall, I was truly honored and humbled. I was also concerned that I could not put into words, this wonderful sweet boy who was a pleasure to know, to love and to teach.
How do you put into words…his smile. That smile with a sparkle in his eyes. Kendall always smiled no matter how he felt. A smile that reassured you, that it was OK. A smile that regardless of what was happening in his world made you smile. Not just a smile, that wry crooked smile that said, I know something that you don’t know- smile.
How do you put into words…a happy child with his father’s resolve and his mother’s inner strength, always a hop and a skip, always ready to laugh and looking for the punch line. And once laughing, leading his brother Zachary to follow close behind.
How do you put into words…Kendall’s desire to have fun. It was the ultimate goal. With the class songs, he was having so much fun that he had an extra beat. And you should have seen him do the chicken dance, he would take it to a whole different level.
How do you put into words…Kendall’s leadership and the things he and Zachary created together, like rolling down the hill after class with their classmates, outside The Morgan Center. On sunny days, this is how they ended every class with laughter and smiles. Kendall also had a lot to add to Show & Tell. He loved to share his toys, as well as souvenirs he got from his outings with Mommy, Daddy, Nonni and Poppy. Kendall and Zachary once had nothing for Show & Tell, so they sat in the front of the room and said, “Ask us where we’ve been”. Kendall also loved to ask questions of the other children which always included, “Where do you keep it?” & “Do you sleep with it?”. This was very cute, especially when Ashley brought her teenage sister for Show & Tell.
How do you put into words…A boy who adored his family. Sometimes Kendall would not be in the mood for arts and crafts. Then he would learn that it was for Mommy, or Daddy. He would then put all his effort into his project to make it just right. Kendall of course adored his brother, and even though Zachary was protective of Kendall, Kendall was always trying to protect Zachary.
How do you put into words… Watching a child go through his passions from Thomas the Tank, to Rescue Heroes, Power Rangers, Hot Wheels, Ninja Turtles, Webkins and eventually becoming the resident expert of Star Wars. Trust me, you could ask him anything.
How do you put into words …. the heaviness I now feel in my heart for a little boy who means so much to anyone who he has touched. But I assure you this beautiful little boy Kendall and his wonderful family will always be in my heart, and will always be a part of The Morgan Center.
Lastly, how do you put into words… what Kendall has taught us. To laugh when its painful, to smile even though you may not feel like smiling, to lead when it would be easier to follow, to protect those who are protecting you, and to love because love follows you everywhere.
Love,
Miss Nancy (& Mr. Rod)
I have NB HOPE bracelets and car magnets for anyone who wants one.
Order your NB HOPE Bracelet today.
Want to help? Give up your lunch for Neuroblastoma research. Together, we can find a cure. I've given up one lunch a month for the next year. Click on the fork ribbon below to donate.
Kendall's Photobucket site.
Journal
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 6:36 AM CDT First of all, many thanks to the Curley Family for their wonderful lemonade stand in Kendall's honor. They raised over $2500 for Alex's Lemonade Stand, an organization started by a little four year old girl who died of the same kind of cancer Kendall had. The money goes to research and fellowship grants for all pediatric cancers. You can still donate for up to a year if you missed it. I have never met them, but they are friends of my brother Nick. I am just so touched by their kindness and generosity. They worked hard, and made beautiful banners which they said we could use for future stands.
I'm sorry I haven't updated sooner. I've been keeping busy and working out a lot, and I just don't have any energy for the computer. Especially during that heatwave... ouch! It would figure that our Walk to Make the Sun Rise was right at the start of that heatwave! Even so, they had a great turnout, and raised over $180,000 to date! (You can still give to this wonderful organization as well, click on the link above). Poor Neil, he was leary about walking to begin with! And Zachary has learned to read enough that he was able to pick out the challenge path sign, and that was the one he wanted. He more or less shamed us on to that one. They struggled up the one big hill (me and Gia walked it!), but otherwise, everyone made the walk....though slowly. Towards the end we took a golf cart for a short ride as they were trying to get everyone off the path. The walk was supposed to be about 45 minutes. It took us about an hour and a half. But we stopped for LOTS of water. Still, the camp was beautiful, and Zachary loved walking. I think I'll take him on some nature trails this summer.
School is almost out, and I'll post some photos from Zachary's moving up ceremony next week. It was really cute and touching, but, like every thing else for me now, it was so sad that there was only one child there. I could just picture how much Kendall would have loved it. I almost lost at the End of Year celebration the PTA held. I volunteered to help out with Zachary's class, and enjoyed watching them all sign bags with their names (each kid got a canvass bag with the names of all the other students in their class), make sand art, and dance to a really cool DJ. It was the dancing that got me. They were all songs Kendall LOVED. He loved group dancing songs like the Hokey Pokey, the Chicken Dance, and.. his favorite, the Cha Cha Slide. It reminded me of the parties we went to with The Morgan Center and A Mother's Kiss. Kendall lived for these moments. I hate to keep sounding like I'm miserable and complaining all the time, but it helps me to write my feelings out. Really, I do enjoy seeing Zachary have a good time, it is just that there is always this sadness there at the loss. I am sure Zachary feels it too. On the other hand, I am full of gratitude for the organizations that helped to make his life so much better and more full than we could ever have hoped to on our own. I am so glad he had the opportunity to go to the Morgan Center and experience their graduation ceremony. They had another one last week and I was sad not to be able to attend to see my friends children graduate the center. Unfortunately, I couldn't take the day off and my mom had commitments that she could not change.
In other news, Zachary had his first fishing trip for Fathers Day weekend! Neil and him went fishing on a charter boat with some of our friends. I don't have photos yet as I made them take a disposable camera and we haven't used it up yet. Zachary was so exited to catch two fish! However, there is no photo of him with fish, as he was too afraid of the fish to stand next to them..... even with the Mate holding them. All the fish were thrown back to swim another day as they were too small. Father's day was very subdued, as usual. Neil has lost both his father and his son in less than two years time. We do try, but it is hard to celebrate when you are mired in grief. We did some things around the house, and later went to have a barbecue with the Donovan family.
I just got an email from a fellow cancer warrior today that reminded me of how connected we all are. Her son Steven had shared a room with us several times at Stony Brook. Actually, they were our first roommates. She was at the cemetery visiting her father-in-laws grave on Father's Day, when she walked around a bit and came across Kendall's stone just a few rows away. I have no doubt Kendall was calling her somehow to try and bring her some comfort.
I had a sign from Kendall after the Sunrise Walk. We were leaving, walking to the car which was in the upper lot and Zachary stopped on a bench in the dugout. It was very hot up there, and there is no water that I can see anywhere near by. When I went to get Zach, I looked down and there was a little frog hopping around his feet! I caught it for a minute so he could see it and touch it, then we let it go. You expect to see them around water, but there is no water up where he was. He was a long way from the pool!
Read Journal History
Hospital Information: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and
Stonybrook Hospital
Links: http://www.themorgancenter.org A nonprofit preschool for the immune supressed.
http://www.lunchforlife.org Donate your lunch money to help fight neuroblastoma!
http://www.stbaldricks.org/locations_shavees.asp St. Baldrick's Donations
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