Declan
Declan Fish is a sweet, active 3-year-old boy with an infectious smile who loves trains, tractors, boats and his stuffed monkey. In May 2017, we started noticing a significant change in Declan's gross motor skills. After visiting the pediatrician, and getting a clean bill of health along with a recommendation to see an ENT, we chalked it up to being overly concerned parents and that maybe he was in a toddler clingy phase. It was a complete gift from the Lord that our good friends and neighbors came over for a drink that evening, one who happens to be a neurologist and brain tumor survivor. When he saw the change in Declan's walking gait, he strongly recommended that we go to the ER that night for a neurological evaluation. At this time we moved quickly, but still thought that this was overdoing it.
Needless to say, that was not the case. On May 30, 2017, Declan had a softball-sized tumor removed from his brain that turned out to be Grade III Choroid Plexus Carcinoma. He experienced several complications post-surgery resulting in more surgeries and more than two months living at Seattle Children's Hospital. Once his little body was healed enough from the surgeries and meningitis, he started a six-month chemotherapy regime that was challenging for all of us. It is something that no child or parent should have to endure.
We are absolutely thrilled that Declan is NED (no evidence of disease) and is thriving after his treatment at Children's. We still face a lifetime of developmental and physical delays, learning to parent and navigate a child with special needs, as well as to face the constant fear of his cancer coming back. Declan has a genetic mutation that predisposes him to multiple types of cancers, so he it is highly likely that he may get another cancer in his lifetime.
Your donations are helping his future. If we have to face cancer again, the technology coming out of research could not only save his life again, but could also be easier on his body. We are so incredibly thankful for support. We continue to live each day with hope!
