[Nfbv-announce] Update from the Fish family

[Corbb O'Connor]

Please see the note below from Mike and C. J. Fish. 

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Hello all,

We hope that this message finds all of you well. As many of you know, we welcomed our beautiful daughter Moriah into the world on January 15, weighing 6 lbs. 3 oz. and measuring 18.5 inches long. She was born very vibrant and healthy. 

However, when she was two and a half weeks old, she was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma. While we were aware that she carried the genetic defect for this cancer, we were not expecting tumors to develop so early in life. It was a bit of a shock for us all. The next day, we started her treatment at Duke, one of the leading specialists in the country on this type of cancer. 

Because of the location of one of her tumors, her best and only option for treatment at this point is chemotherapy. She has had one round of chemo so far, and she will continue to receive chemo once every four weeks for the next six months at Duke. The chemo has been hard on her little body, but she is a fighter and is pushing through it all. She is doing well, all things considered. 

As you can probably guess, the past four weeks have been challenging and emotional for us, but we are very optimistic about her treatment and our journey over the next several months and years. Although we are only at the beginning of this journey, we know that God will give us the strength we need to get through it. 

We are so thankful for the massive support network that we have and for the incredible doctors and nurses that she has working with her.

Many people have asked us how they can help. We really appreciate thoughts and prayers. Your support means a lot to us. 

Some have been providing us with meals, and we are very grateful for that, but we realize it is not feasible for everyone to do, especially considering that most of you do not live locally to us. A third option is donations. 

We would happily accept any gifts in honor of Moriah to ease some of the numerous costs involved in her treatment. We have travel expenses, both to and from Duke and to countless blood count checks and sick visits around Richmond. There are also costs associated with all aspects of her treatment, including co-pays and uncovered medical expenses for all doctor visits, procedures, and hospital stays. 

If you are interested in making any type of donation, please send us an email at:
moriahjadefund at gmail.com

Again, we greatly appreciate all of your support and encouragement. We will do our best to update you all as treatment progresses.

Mike and C. J.