Nickie Fowler was my loving wife and the mother of our 4 children. In addition to being an active member of the community and our church, she was also a tireless advocate for our 16 year old son with autism and an avid marathoner.
On October 2, 2017 we found out that Nickie had stage 4 colon cancer, with metastases to her peritoneum. In 2018, she underwent Folfox chemotherapy, and on February 21, 2018, she had an abdominal surgery known as HIPEC. By summer of 2018, she was declared free of disease.
In 2019, cancer had returned. She tried a 2nd type of chemo, FOLFIRI, but was allergic to the treatment. The doctors also attempted another HIPEC surgery, but tumors were too widespread to continue. She made another attempt at the original FOLFOX chemotherapy but ended up being allergic to that too. The cancer has now constricted one of her ureters, which meant she had to have a drain placed through her back into her kidney. We attempted multiple oral chemo drugs but cancer was ultimately too widespread and was steadily choking out all her organs.
On May 19th, at 2:40am, Nickie finished her battle with cancer and stepped across the finish line into heaven.
As her husband of almost 19 years, I witnessed Nickie climb mountains, run marathons, volunteer in school, work in the community, help those less fortunate, and love her family endlessly. I had faith that she had the strength, conviction, and sheer stubbornness to beat cancer. But having faith also means that we must accept things that are out of our control and a larger part of God's plan.
Thank you to our friends and family for the limitless, unwavering faith and support through this time. We love you all.
John, Nickie, Evan, William, Sophie, and Thomas Fowler
