Paige - Leukemia Surviour

My name is Nancy Cadenhead and I work at the Beer Store in Beaverton (4552).

Last year my nine year old neice Paige was diagnosed with leukemia. At the time this was discovered my father-in law Jack, (her grandfather) was struck down with cancer to the brain. He was a retired Toronto firefighter and he had battled and won one round of cancer in 2003 in his jaw but suffered a stoke last year which was caused by a bleed in the brain which was cancerous. He underwent treatment but it had spread to his lungs and very likely every where else. He was an extremely tough and hardy fighter but he lost his battle June 12/2010.

My niece Paige and her family live in Florida. Her mother, Fran (my husband's sister) is a nurse at Tampa General where she is in charge of eleven operating rooms. She and her husband Jim and three girls, Madison, Paige and Reese moved to Florida five years ago, a difficult decision because it meant leaving all their family here but the opportunities were too great to ignore.

Jack (my father-in-law was reduced to wheelchair, unable to feed or dress himself and had surgery to his brain which worked very well for a few days but soon the bleed returned and it is my personal belief that he allowed death to come naturally so that the attention may be turned to Paige and her upcoming treatment. He was a true hero and the bravest, strongest man I have ever known. Even after the stoke he was not on any medication for pain management.

He saved the lives of 19 people during his career as a firefighter, most of them being children. His was the generation known as "smoke eaters" as there was only one or two masks per truck and that was for the captain and senior man. It was not uncommon for him to remove his mask while in a smoke filled building looking for survivors and quite often found children hiding under beds. He always thought of his own children at home and knew where to look for them and that was his motivion for risking his life to save the children of others.

Paige was in attendance at his funeral along with the rest of her family and when she returned home to Florida she underwent very agressive treatment to battle her cancer. She lost all her hair but not her spirit and determination and she recently celebrating her tenth birthday.

She recently enjoyed a trip on a cruise ship with her family courtsey of the Make a wish foundation.

It is because of Paige that I am motivated to work hard to raise as much money as possible for Leukemia research and I thank the Beer Store for encouraging me to do so.