nick, in his words...

(play as you read)

(1985-2009)

"I love sports and games and when I say that I love sports and games I mean everything. I love to play golf, basketball, baseball, soccer, frisbee, football, tennis, street hockey, and swim..."

(nick at the stratosphere in las vegas)

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"it was brought to my attention today that i had been doing a lot lately and seem to be happier... which got me to thinking that i am going to try to make this one of the best summer's of my life. if there is anyone who wants to help me out in my quest hit me up and i will do basically anything just to be with the people that are important in my life... my friends. as of right now i have tickets to go to kings island, kenny chesney, and john mayer with ben folds.... i also have tickets to a reds game and trying to decide whether or not to pay 160 to see the bengals play. i'm not working so most of the time during the day i am not doing anything and would love it if i had someone that would go out and do something. i don't care what i am just trying to live my life the way i should have the last 21 years of my life. i am getting into the fast lane.... if anyone wants to join me let me know...."



(kenny chesney concert)

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(gabby)

"I have a little devil of a dog. She is a little over a year old beagle and her name is Gabby, not that she listens when you call her anyway but we are working on it... She loves to chew any and everything from a razor blade to a flip flop to a bra. You have got to watch your posessions when you are around her because she will snatch them up in a heartbeat. I share an apartment building in Louisville, KY with my friend from high school. I love the city of Louisville and will probably end up living there when I get older. I love to cook. I love to try different things and I usually can make food that is pretty good at least for a college kid not living off of frozen foods and noodles. I hate to clean after I cook though.... I like to use that george foreman but I got one of the ones that you can't stick in the dishwasher so you have to do it by hand and it sucks."

(gabby and nick)

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"If I could meet anyone in the world I would have to say I would love to meet my donor. I have/had cancer. I have hodgskins lymphoma which as of right now has a 90% cure rate. Well I was diagnosed Feburary 7th, 2000 and I am still fighting it. I have had numerous amounts of chemotherapy and radiation, I have had an experimental CD-30 antibody study, and I am currently approaching the end of my third transplant. The first 2 transplants were otologist transplants which meant that I got my own cells but the difference in this transplant was that it was allogenic which means that someone had to donate their cells to me. The reason I want to meet this person is because in order for me to get this transplant, I had to get my blood typecrossed with donars in the donar registry. Out of all the people in the world that were registered in the blood donar there were only 2 people that matched me in the world. After the doctors determined that I needed this transplant one of the 2 donars was contacted and they accepted. The big deal about this is... this is not like the donar goes and gives a sample of their blood and that is all they have to do. The person who did this had to go through weeks of immunotherapy, taking extra pills, going in for injections periodically and then to give their cells they had to go to the blood bank and sit there all day for 2 days with a catheder running out of both of their arms to save my life. This person has never met me, doesn't know what all I have been through or anything yet they took time, money, and pain to save my life. That is the type of person that I wish I could be and I wish I could meet. Technically at the moment I am cancer free but my immune system is still building thanks to their cells."

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(nick and his mom, jenny)

Posted Feb 20, 2008 7:58am
"Day 567 – Eight years and 12 days ago Nick was diagnosed with Hodgkins and 7 days after that he was released from the hospital --- on my birthday. Since then, February’s have been unsettling for me, particularly when scans are involved. Not that I’m superstitious but, in my mind, the date links me to fault……. that I didn’t watch enough, that I didn’t do what I was suppose to or that I should have been able to do something to prevent this horrible thing that has happened to my son. I think all parents would feel the same way but in the harshest of reality we know that there is very little that we have full control over and we just have to pray for God’s mercy and strength to carry us through.
Nick’s last scans were in September (an eternity ago). St. Jude has added a new building to house their radiology/imaging department. Scans have been delayed since November waiting for the PET to become available. Since that time he has suffered through a horrible case of shingles, had his car hit by a drunk driver, and has become increasingly less mobile from prednisone induced joint damage. So our journey to Memphis Monday night for scans on Tuesday was more ominous than usual.
Nick’s first appointment was early so Bill set the alarm for 5:30 am to give all of us enough time to get ready. Obviously there was something wrong with our clock because after Bill & I showered, we realized it was 5:00 am so I actually got up at 4:30 am. Our schedule went uncommonly smooth. We actually kept on-time for the most part. Our last appointment was with Dr. Hudson and, of course, she had already called for the CT/PET readings before we got to the exam room. CT was clear, PET was clear (except for something in the jaw area which she said was “not worrisome”). My prayer, my hope, my full desire is that we have come full circle. We have some “clean up work” to get Nick back up and going but, hopefully, the Hodgkin’s is gone for good. In the last eight years, this is the longest length of time he has been able to obtain clear scans without chemo. His last chemo was July 31, 2006." jenny gaddis

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"I am extremely competitive... but if you couldn't tell that from the whole thing about my interests then something is wrong with you. That is probably why I love sports and games so much. I love the thrill of winning and losing... the agony of defeat and the glory of victory!"

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nick was competitive. he combatted cancer for nearly 10 years without ever giving up nor giving in to the horrible disease. in my life, have never seen anyone like him...

"2 Timothy 4:7 – "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith."
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please keep nick's family in your thoughts and prayers;
for, they lost their little warrior yesterday.

love and God's blessings,
dani xx