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I'VE WALKED
IN THESE FAMILIES
SHOES
IN THESE FAMILIES
SHOES
OUR STORY
Our story begins with an amazing healthy young man. Sixteen years old and full of life. Brendan Kizer loved to skateboard, snowboard, play guitar, and be a daredevil. He loved to be outside and there wasn't a moment that went by that he wasn't doing something to make someone laugh. Brendan was working part-time at the local walmart while going to school during the day. He always had a smile on his face and a hello for everyone.
On February 14th 2008, Brendan had to go for a biopsy on a spot that had gone from what looked like a pimple to a ball under his arm. As the days passed everyone prayed that it would all be ok, but on February 21st Brendan and his family got the confirmation that it was CANCER. These words are the words that everyone fears to hear out of their doctors mouth. Brendan was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Burkitts Lymphoma. He was then taken by his mother Robbin and sister Meighan and a good friend of Robbins Candy to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where he was told that the Burkitt's is Extremely Aggressive and rare and that if they hadn't caught it when they did he only had two weeks to live. Yes to hear those words were devastating to Brendan but he refused to give up. He pushed and fought and said "Lets do it".
Brendan underwent very aggressive chemotherapy for 4 months before finding out that the cancer had gone into remission. This in itself was a miracle. However, his remission was short lived. 28 days later Brendan's cancer was back and this time it was Burkitt's Leukemia. This meant even more aggressive chemo, bone marrow transplants and an even harder fight for his life.
After only a few months of the new chemo Brendan went to Clinic on September 21 for his routine check and to see if his counts were good enough for Bone Marrow Transplant. The news that Brendan and his mother received that day was not what they expected at all. Brendan had developed a protein called CD22 on the cancer cells making them chemo resistant. Brendan and his mother and the doctor all looked for the next step and that consisted of a trip to Maryland to National Institute of Health for a Phase I Clinical Trial. So on the 23rd of September Brendan and his mom and her friend Candy headed off to Maryland for uncharted waters. Fear, insecurity and hope filling them making every second of the drive was long and hard. Then arrived at NIH in Maryland and Brendan began undergoing tests and preparation for the administration of this drug. After nearly a week, Brendan received the first dose of a drug that had never been given to a human at this dose. With in just 24 short hours Brendan's liver enzymes were elevating to dangerous levels and his liver was beginning to shut down. Brendan never got to receive the second dose of the drug as his health started to deteriorate and now his liver and kidneys were shutting down. On October 2nd the decision was made that Brendan would be transported back to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia at the wishes of himself and his family. Sometime during the mid afternoon hours of October 2nd Brendan slipped into a coma. On October 3rd, Brendan, his mother and his father were transported via ambulance back to CHOP, following the ambulance were his sister, his girlfriend and a small army of his friends.
Brendan arrived at CHOP and while being connected to his oxygen, and IV's Brendan Michael Kizer opened his eyes, looked around at his mom and dad, gave a very small smile and passed quietly on to Heaven.
Although Brendan's physical battle with cancer has ended, the battle for helping other like him continues through us.
We all have learned through Brendan that no matter what if we look at the world positively we can make a difference and with Brendan now silently at our sides we continue his mission as..... Brendan's Angels and One Child Too Many A Brendan Kizer Foundation
On February 14th 2008, Brendan had to go for a biopsy on a spot that had gone from what looked like a pimple to a ball under his arm. As the days passed everyone prayed that it would all be ok, but on February 21st Brendan and his family got the confirmation that it was CANCER. These words are the words that everyone fears to hear out of their doctors mouth. Brendan was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Burkitts Lymphoma. He was then taken by his mother Robbin and sister Meighan and a good friend of Robbins Candy to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where he was told that the Burkitt's is Extremely Aggressive and rare and that if they hadn't caught it when they did he only had two weeks to live. Yes to hear those words were devastating to Brendan but he refused to give up. He pushed and fought and said "Lets do it".
Brendan underwent very aggressive chemotherapy for 4 months before finding out that the cancer had gone into remission. This in itself was a miracle. However, his remission was short lived. 28 days later Brendan's cancer was back and this time it was Burkitt's Leukemia. This meant even more aggressive chemo, bone marrow transplants and an even harder fight for his life.
After only a few months of the new chemo Brendan went to Clinic on September 21 for his routine check and to see if his counts were good enough for Bone Marrow Transplant. The news that Brendan and his mother received that day was not what they expected at all. Brendan had developed a protein called CD22 on the cancer cells making them chemo resistant. Brendan and his mother and the doctor all looked for the next step and that consisted of a trip to Maryland to National Institute of Health for a Phase I Clinical Trial. So on the 23rd of September Brendan and his mom and her friend Candy headed off to Maryland for uncharted waters. Fear, insecurity and hope filling them making every second of the drive was long and hard. Then arrived at NIH in Maryland and Brendan began undergoing tests and preparation for the administration of this drug. After nearly a week, Brendan received the first dose of a drug that had never been given to a human at this dose. With in just 24 short hours Brendan's liver enzymes were elevating to dangerous levels and his liver was beginning to shut down. Brendan never got to receive the second dose of the drug as his health started to deteriorate and now his liver and kidneys were shutting down. On October 2nd the decision was made that Brendan would be transported back to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia at the wishes of himself and his family. Sometime during the mid afternoon hours of October 2nd Brendan slipped into a coma. On October 3rd, Brendan, his mother and his father were transported via ambulance back to CHOP, following the ambulance were his sister, his girlfriend and a small army of his friends.
Brendan arrived at CHOP and while being connected to his oxygen, and IV's Brendan Michael Kizer opened his eyes, looked around at his mom and dad, gave a very small smile and passed quietly on to Heaven.
Although Brendan's physical battle with cancer has ended, the battle for helping other like him continues through us.
We all have learned through Brendan that no matter what if we look at the world positively we can make a difference and with Brendan now silently at our sides we continue his mission as..... Brendan's Angels and One Child Too Many A Brendan Kizer Foundation
