Family House Family Stories Videos

Have you seen the latest Family House Family Stories videos?  Since being introduced in June (Nino's Story), we have released two more Family Stories videos - Amenah & Anthony, and Jack's Tale.  While each story is very different, they share the same themes - love, community, compassion, gratefulness, and strength.

We plan to release a new Family Story video each month - be sure to subscribe to the Family House Youtube Channel and sign up to receive our newsletters.

Please view and share these videos - by sharing the mission of Family House, it builds our community, enabling us to help even more families in need.  Thank you!

Click here to learn more about Family House families:
http://www.familyhouseinc.org/family-stories.html 

Founder to Founder, by Arthur Ablin, M.D., December 2012

Sit down with me for a few minutes and become moved as I have by this touching yet uplifting story about one of our Family House’s remarkable and resilient patients and his loving, supportive family.

Austin Young, now 18 years old was stricken (yes, that’s the word) at 6 months of age with a cancer of the retinas of both his eyes. The stage of his cancer, a retinoblastoma, was such that without treatment he would certainly have rapidly become blind and died as a young child. Infant Austin and his family were presented with devastating alternative choices for treatment: One was the immediate removal of both eyes with instant blindness; The other option available was radiation therapy to both of his infant eyes with only a hope, not a promise, that his life could be saved with a slight possibility that some modicum of vision might be retained. The price for this latter choice would be cataracts in both eyes with obvious facial changes as the rest of his face and head grew. If that were not overwhelming by itself, survivors of retinblastoma of both eyes have a high life-long chance of developing other cancers later increased by the very radiation therapy used to treat the original retinoblastoma. Those second cancers are difficult to treat and may or may not be curable.

Imagine with me the stresses associated with decision making this family was going through. No good choices, only bad or worse ones. How can anyone be asked to make them? It doesn’t seem fair to ask any parent to make these decisions for their child. Exacting daily radiation therapy in the UCSF Department of Radiation Oncology for several weeks requiring motionless eyes and therefore, daily anesthesia for several weeks was their least horrendous treatment choice. The family stayed at Family House during these many weeks of radiation and the monthly follow up visits for many years. During that time and the innumerable check-up examinations required, Austin, his parents and sister, Bonnie, David, and Lauren called Family House home. They survived and Austin adjusted, even excelled with remarkable strength of character in spite of his impaired vision and physical disability.

Now 18 years later, 6 foot delightful Austin is blind in his left eye and has 20/200 vision in his right eye (sees at 20 feet what a person with normal vision can see at 200 feet). He has under growth of the mid portion of his face making him easily distinguishable among his peers, an appearance with which he has become comfortable because of his engaging, pleasant smile, a twinkle in his poorly sighted eyes and his quiet demeanor. If that were not enough, more of the medical story continues. At age 16, 2 years ago, cured from his retinoblastoma, a popular, productive and bright sophomore in Bella Vista high school dealing successfully with his visual and physical disabilities, Austin and his family discovered a rapidly growing lump in his left upper neck. Austin had developed a different, second cancer at the left side of his face. It required a meticulous 16 hour operation, then months of chemotherapy with further radiation therapy. Long stays in at UCSF and at Family House were then again required with the hope this second cancer had been cured. Unfortunately, less than a year later there is a recurrence of his rhabdomyosarcoma. Austin and his family are guests again at Family House while he is receiving yet another course of alternative chemotherapy and cyber knife radiation surgery. Austin and his family know the outcome of this treatment is questionable but face this with realistic optimism, humor and characteristic determination.

In spite of missing many days and weeks of school Austin managed to keep up with his class work, and recently graduated from high school and has been accepted to start U.C. Davis. High intensive chemotherapy and radiation therapy require that he defers Davis now. Austin recognizes the important role Family House has been for him and his family, both in the support with other families over the years and the high cost that would have resulted in finding accommodations in San Francisco. To express appreciation to Family House for all that he and his family received, Austin, whose goal in life is to become a computer engineer, created a social event called “Gaming 4 a Cause” to support Family House. He elicited support from classmates and with his and their parents established a non-profit charity of which he is the president. His 17 and 18 year old classmates are the vice-president, financial officer, treasurer and publicity director, and secretary. This team has acquired the necessary hardware through contributions and careful purchasing , arranged rent-free space at Fuddrucker’s World’s Greatest Hamburger restaurant outside of Sacramento where they hold week-end events charging small entrance fees. Participants form teams which compete to win electronic prizes such as controllers, mice and software. During the past several months attendance has steadily grown and the profits for an evening of spirited fun and clean sociability have been as high as $1600. The restaurant is glad to have them! As the popularity increases and all the details of his enterprise are further fine-tuned, Austin and his sister Lauren are spreading the word and know how of Gaming 4 a Cause to other schools hoping to multiply the profits for Family House. A quiet smile creeps over his face, his poorly sighted eyes twinkle and he softly says “It’s for Family House.” Go Austin! Go Youngs! Go Family House! We are here for each other and all other thousands of children and their families that are called Family House.

July 2013 UPDATE: Austin has finished chemotherapy and radiation, and is headed to UC Davis this fall.  Keep an eye on Gaming 4 a Cause happenings at www.gaming4acause.org

Click here to learn more about Family House families:
http://www.familyhouseinc.org/family-stories.html 

Introducing Family Stories Videos

Introducing Family House Family Stories - videos that feature the brave and inspiring stories of families of children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.  Watch the first Family Stories video - Nino's Story:

http://www.familyhouseinc.org/family-stories.html

The Fernandes Family Story

The Fernandes Family

The Fernandes' journey in San Francisco and with Family House began in 2010 when their son Frankie was found to have a tumor at the base of his neck. Frank Fernandes and his wife Diane would like to share Frankie's story, from his point of view:

"Hi,
My name is Frankie and when I was 5 years old I was having a lot of neck pain, so my mommy and daddy took me to the doctor. It all started about June 18th when I started having this really bad neck pain. The pain would come and go. We went on our family vacation to Disneyworld the last week of June and I didn't feel real good, I was tired and my neck kept bothering me. On 4th of July I had a really bad episode and my parents took me to the ER at Kaweah Delta, but they couldn't figure out what was wrong so they gave me some motrin and tylenol, and sent me home. Two days later I went to see my doctor. Dr. McNich did some x-Rays of my neck and a swab of my throat everything looked normal and she was stumped, so she sent us to Childrens Hospital in Madera. On July 12, 2010 we found out, from the doctors at Valley Childrens in Madera, that I had a tumor at the base of my brain. They decided to send us to UCSF San Francisco since they are the best for these types of tumors. This is where we learned I had a tumor called a Clival Chordoma and I would need to have surgery to remove it. After a couple months at UCSF I then underwent 8 weeks of Proton radiation treatment so that my tumor would not come back."

Frankie at UCSF hospital

Unfortunately, as is the case with many of our families, this was only the beginning of the treatment process Frankie would need to undergo. Over the course of the last two years, the family has kept a personal website including journals that they wrote to detail day to day struggles and triumphs over the course of Frankie's treatment, as well as Family House and its importance to them (see journal from 3-21-2012). Frank and Diane would love to pass their website info on to all, so everyone can read their journals. Please visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/frankiefernandes to learn more about the Fernandes family's story!

The Atwood Family Story

Karissa, Luke, John, and Laci @ Family House

The Atwood family is currently facing an illness that changed their life in an instant. Only two months ago, on February 21st of this year, parents John and Karissa learned that their youngest child Laci had cancer. After the diagnosis of embryonal botryoid rhabdomyosarcoma—which is one of the more common, tumorous forms of childhood cancers—the Atwood’s life has been a whirlwind. As it turned out, although Laci had a common type of cancer, hers was incredibly rare in its location; located in her ear and temporal bone, less than one millimeter from her brain, surgery was not an option. What all of this meant was that Laci was now classified as having Stage III cancer and would have to undergo a 42 week treatment plan, involving both chemotherapy and radiation.

The Atwood’s immediately began the treatment process at their home in Fresno, CA, but were halted shortly thereafter when their hospital’s radiation machine broke. John, Karissa, Laci, and 5 year old brother Luke were forced to move quickly: it was 9 PM the night they learned that they needed to be transferred up to San Francisco, and they had to be at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital by 9 AM the next morning. The family remembers being told that they were going to stay at Family House, and that everything was already set up for their arrival. However, John was skeptical at first—a feeling that many families may have upon their impending arrival to this new home away from home.  He laughed, confessing that on that first night he took his family to stay at a hotel instead.

After being here for over three weeks, John was happy to share that his feelings of uneasiness about coming to Family House have completely subsided. He noted that even if his family could afford a different living situation while up here in San Francisco, they would still choose to be at Family House. He summed it up, saying that they “wouldn’t do it any other way”. When asked what they like most about Family House, John and Karissa agreed that the feeling of community between all the families staying here is one of the best perks. Whether they are connecting with families going through the same diagnosis that they are, or whether they are learning about different situations than theirs, the Atwood’s appreciate being able to share this time with a new, inner support group. In fact, they said that they have formed life-long friendships in the few weeks that they have been here. These newly formed friendships, as well as the supportive staff, have led John to remark that by being here he has changed for the better.

The Corona Family Story

The Corona Family with Bobby the Easter Bunny @ our 10th Ave. house

In the past year, the Corona family’s life has been completely turned upside down. Last May, they found out that their 3 year old son Steven was suffering from retinoblastoma, which is cancer of the eye. Unfortunately, retinoblastoma can be hereditary and the family went through this once before, with Steven’s dad many years prior.

The treatment plan led Steven, mom Brandy, grandma Janet, and baby sister Vivianna up to San Francisco to work with doctors at UCSF’s children’s hospital. Currently, the family is completing a five week stay at Family House while Steven receives 30 minute sessions of radiation treatment, 5 days a week. This treatment is an attempt to save his right eye, and prevent him from becoming blind (previous treatments were unsuccessful in saving his left eye).

While this isn’t the Corona family’s first stay at Family House, it is definitely the longest. Previously, they have stayed with us for just a few days at a time. Because Steven’s dad must stay home and work while everyone else is up in San Francisco, the time apart could be hard on this close family. However, they all pack up and drive home every weekend so that they can see their dad and spend time as a family, and on Sunday nights they drive back to begin another long week of treatment. They live about an hour outside of Fresno, so the roundtrip drive each weekend can take almost 10 hours. 

When they are here during the week, the family described the atmosphere using the words warmth, comfort, and security. In terms of security, the family referenced the way that they are always taken care of here: “any time we need something, it’s there… sometimes I can’t believe it and I have to say ‘pinch me’“. Aside from the great atmosphere here, a few of the Corona’s favorite parts of Family House are the events for the kids and the passes that Family House offers (to the zoo, Academy of Sciences, etc.). While the children’s activities help Steven get his mind away from his daily morning treatments at the doctors, Brandy says that the family passes help the parents take their minds off the doctors and allow them to clear their head from everything that is happening while they recharge in a different environment. What the family appreciates the most here, though, are the people in general—the families that come through here. Janet noted candidly:“you think that you’re by yourself in this world, but then you meet other families here… the people who you meet here allow you to experience it with someone else.”

My Fight Against Cancer - Ariana Argueta ’12

As part of the UCSF community, we are privileged to know people that have experienced hardships while having to relocate for treatment. All of our families come from at least 50 miles away similar to this family. The Argueta family allowed us to share this story with the Family House community.   

My Fight Against Cancer

Ariana Argueta ’12

September 11, 2009, was the day my world was turned upside-down. Typical teenage girls usually think about boys, grades, and sports—all normal things that I was focused on, too, prior to my own 9/11. That was the day I was diagnosed with brain cancer, and, from then until now, cancer has been on my mind most of the time.

When I first heard the word “cancer” two years ago, I knew the stereotypes associated with people who have it, but I didn’t really understand what was going to happen to me. I told myself that I might just have surgery, miss a few weeks of school, and then get back to life as usual. At the same time, I immediately started worrying about losing all my hair. Though I knew it would grow back, I also knew I would have to look like a different person for some time. The doctor said I would have a little scar. It wasn’t long before the reality of what I was facing became clear.

My surgery took seventeen hours to completely remove the tumor. I later found out my parents had been told I might not walk, talk, or eat on my own again afterward. My treatment was just getting started.

In the year after my surgery, I experienced monthly chemotherapy and radiation as an inpatient at UCSF Hospital. During the first six weeks of my treatment, my parents and I had to live in San Francisco. We had to leave my younger sister and Grandma behind. We had to leave our normal lives behind. Due to the radiation therapy, I did lose a significant amount of my hair. The little scar the doctor said I would have did not turn out to be quite so little. My self-esteem took a big hit. On top of that, I was underweight; I had a significant weight loss of 27 pounds, and there was no easy way of gaining it back when I had no appetite at all. I felt that I had lost my identity, and I realized this was still just the beginning of a long battle.

Once I came to terms with losing my hair and the other changes in my appearance, I began to worry about all the homework assignments and confirmation classes I would be missing. I wondered whether or not I would ever catch up. School has always been a top priority for me. Thus, falling behind in classes and not being able to graduate with my class was one of my biggest concerns. Although I knew I had the support of my teachers, missing so much class affected my confidence in my ability to do well in school. And the surgery and the cancer treatments did make learning harder for me than it was before—particularly memorization. But I came to school when I could and kept going.

I was asked recently which was worse— getting diagnosed with cancer or going through the treatment—and I have to say that the fear and the uncertainty around getting diagnosed might have been the worst of it. But I never asked, “Why me?” I didn’t dwell on that. Once the treatment started, I just took each day as it came.

Besides the sickness itself and the different treatments (which also made me sick), what was hard for me was the realization that my relationships were changing. Old friendships disappeared. People I had been close to moved on. I started to feel that people feared me. New friendships that I made in the hospital turned out to be very short-lived. A baby boy I knew died after six months. My family and I were always committed to the Catholic Church, but these experiences made my faith more and more important to me. And that brings me to a bright spot in my story.

In March 2010, I was interviewed by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. They asked me what my greatest wish was. I am not sure how I would have answered that before I had cancer, but material things interested me a lot less than they used to, so I told them that, if I could go anywhere in the world and meet anyone, I would like to meet the Pope, who is so special to my religion. Somehow, the Make-A-Wish Foundation made it happen, and on October 20, 2010, my family and I went to Rome, and I had an audience with the Pope. When I was asked about my impressions of the event, I remembered that I really couldn’t understand much of what the Holy Father said to me. His German accent was very strong, there was classical music playing loudly in the background, and people in the crowd were shouting, “Papa! Papa!” But it didn’t matter that I couldn’t quite make out what he said. The Pope’s gaze was very powerful. There was something about his eyes. And when he took my hand, I noticed his very large gold ring set with a red stone. I had the feeling that this was the closest I could get on Earth to meeting God. It was truly magical. The Pope’s blessing left me feeling empowered and really has helped me cope with my difficulties.

This is a very small snapshot of my life in the last two years. During my fight against cancer, I have realized that my faith and family are the most important things to me. Through the difficulties, I have learned a lot about myself. My faith in God has grown immensely. I have learned to put worries like regaining my weight, growing my hair, and graduating with my class in His hands. I have also learned to truly value my family, because they have demonstrated unconditional love and support for me. Cancer may have changed me forever, but it does not define me. The way I choose to live does. I have learned not to worry about the small things in life and literally to live one day at a time, because we can’t control yesterday or tomorrow. Today is the only reality we can live in. We have to make it count.

Ariana Loren Argueta, our "Ari", was given to us by God on February 3, 1994. On September 11, 2009 Ariana was diagnosed with pediatric brain cancer and returned home to our Holy Father on November 17, 2012. 

Click here to learn more about Family House families:
http://www.familyhouseinc.org/family-stories.html