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Nicole 
October 31, 1994 - December 7, 2006
Journal
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 2:06 AM CST " The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."
Psalm 34:18
Dear Family and Friends,
On Thursday December 7, 2006 about 12:15 pm, after a courageous fight with cancer, our precious Nicole went home to be with her Lord and Savior in Heaven. She went peacefully, without any suffering, surrounded by her family. She was so brave… and we miss her more than words can describe.
We celebrated Nicole’s life at a service on Tuesday, December 12 and were overwhelmed by all the family and friends that attended. We thank you all for the prayers and support that we have experienced over the last few weeks… (and years). We have really enjoyed all the guest book entries that you are leaving. They are such a blessing and encouragement to us and we thank you for writing! Please continue to share your thoughts… and memories of Nicole.
Every day we miss and remember Nicole’s smile, her love for God, her sense of humor, her wanting to be in the middle of everything and not wanting to miss anything, how much she loved her sister and brother, how she loved going to church, how she was not afraid, how social she was, how she loved singing, how she loved sleepovers, how silly she was, how much she loved dogs, how she loved to shop, how she loved to swim, how she loved to play in the kitchen, how she loved the beach, how she loved youth group, how she loved to travel, how proud she was of her cell phone (yeah we gave in on that!), how she loved her new wavy hair, how she took forever to pick out an outfit, how she loved her friends and did I mention her sense of humor and how silly she was?... she always made us laugh!
You can read the journal entries that we have posted over the last couple of years but below is a brief recap of her medical story. The real story of Nicole’s life is not brief… and we hope to be able to share more about her life in the months ahead through journal entries and pictures.
Nicole was 9 years old and in the third grade when she was diagnosed in March of 2004 with Ewings’ Sarcoma, a rare childhood cancer. Her primary tumor was in her pelvis and scans showed that it had spread to several other locations. During the next eight months she bravely underwent 14 rounds of chemo and 6 weeks of radiation. She stayed home from school and had a tutor during this time since the treatment gave her low blood counts and made her susceptible to infection. Nicole lost all of her hair in 2004 and again in late 2005. She wore hats the first time around and bandanas the second. She had clear scans in the early part of 2005, and returned to school half way through the 4th grade and back to being a normal 10 year old. In July of 2005 we discovered that the tumors had recurred in her lungs. We also learned that she had a broken hip and in November of 2005 she underwent surgery to have 2 pins placed in her hip so she could continue to run and swim and bike and not have to use crutches or a wheelchair… (and for any of you that remember the period of time that Nicole was “supposed” to be using the crutches, you know that she carried them more than she used them!) We started treatment again for her lungs and she did 7 more rounds of chemo and 2 more weeks of radiation. Despite undergoing treatment and the risk of infection, we decided it was more beneficial for her to go to school, so she attended all of her 5th grade year. In the spring of 2006 she had only 2 stubborn tumors remaining in her lungs and we decided to remove the larger one surgically. She had a lobectomy where they removed the lower lobe of her left lung… (after which we affectionately called her “little half lung”) It didn’t really slow her down and she spent the summer of 2006 swimming, traveling and enjoying her friends. She also went to the American Cancer Society “Camp Sunrise” for the third summer, where she loved being with other patients and survivors. She was thrilled to have a full head of hair again like any 12 year girl! The tumors in her lungs continued to spread and grow and she eventually needed to use oxygen. She continued to fight hard and in the end she only spent the last 4 days in bed. The weekend before she passed away she went to the movies on Friday night and Saturday she went to see her brother’s wrestling meet. She was strong willed and an amazing patient and we were blessed with few side effects throughout all of her treatment.
We continue to lean on God to make it through each day and sometimes each hour. We miss her so desperately, but cling to God’s promises that she is with Jesus in Heaven, and that we can be assured that we will see her again through our own faith and trust in Jesus. It was also Nicole’s wish that she would see all of you again in Heaven. It is on our hearts that you all have that same assurance and know the promise of God to give you eternal life. `
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
Love,
Kevin, Kristi, Natasha, Niklas and Nicole’s dad, Naji
Read Journal History
Links: http://www.carepages.com more pix here...NicoleUpdates is the name of her page
http://www.cccva.org Christ Community Church in Ashburn
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