The start of 2012 was difficult for David. He was hospitalized in February and again in April with HUS symptoms. The hospitalizations required plasma exchange, but fortunately dialysis was not required either time. In August a good friend David met through the clinic lost his fight with cancer. He was only 13 and was a remarkable young man. David's last hospitalization was in April after which one of the key drugs was removed from his treatment plan as this appeared to be the possible cause of the HUS symptoms Thankfully the HUS symptoms have not re-occurred, although no one can predict the impact of removing this drug from David's treatment plan. David continued chemo and spinal taps until the end of 2012 when we received the great news that David's active treatment had come to an end! David has gone back to school full time and he continues to struggle with high blood pressure from the kidney problems and continues physical therapy to regain lost mobility. There is no guarantee that David will not relapse, but when we go to his monthly blood checks we look back at the road he has traveled and the innocence, resolve and faith that he displayed during this journey and we are thankful that he is with us and moving forward. It is in this spirit that we encourage each of you to support St Baldrick's and help fund research so that other children are not forced to travel this same road and that kids like David can continue to recover and thrive and enjoy their childhood. Following are the messages about David from the last few years of St Baldrick events. During 2011 David has continued to improve and move forward through the maintenance phase of his treatment for ALL. Unfortunately he has experienced 2 serious setbacks caused by atypical HUS which is not caused by his Leukemia. The setbacks caused his red blood cells to break down which resulted in kidney failure. He was hospitalized for 28 days in August and again over Christmas. Both times he required a catheder which was put in his neck. David required mutliple rounds of plasmapheresis and kidney dialysis. We were blessed that the staff at UNC Children's Hospital were able to treat both occurrences and David no longer has the catheder and no longer requires dialysis. The doctors suspect that one of the key drugs in his Leukemia maintenance program may be the cause so they removed this from his treatment. No one knows what removing this drug will mean for his recovery from ALL. Still David approaches each day with a positive attitude and is an inspiration to his family. Our family has been blessed with enourmous support and prayers from so many and for this we are truely blessed and thankful. Your donations to St. Baldrick's are critical for the funding of pediatric cancer research and we ask each of you to please donate. Your donations are key to funding research for treatment and cures for pediatric cancer and for a return to normalcy for many children who no longer know what it is like to experience a normal healthy childhood. Following is David's initial story from December 2009: David is a bright, happy, friendly 5th grader at Sycamore Creek Elementary in Raleigh. He likes school, Legos, baseball, swimming and playing video games. He is a NC State Wolfpack fan and has an older sister Halie who he loves. David is a big jokester who keeps us all in stitches. At the end of November last year David experienced severe headaches followed by severe stomach pain. After 3 trips to the emergency room he was diagnosed with ALL which also caused stroke like complications to his brain with paralysis to his right side. He has regained most of the use of his right side, but still requires a walker and cannot get up and down steps. He continues physical therapy and continues to improve and will soon be running up and down the steps! David is in the 2nd treatment phase of treatment for ALL at UNC Children’s Hospital. David has had several stays in the UNC hospital along with his regular visits to the cancer clinic. We are blessed to live so close to a great hospital with such a caring, compassionate, competent nursing staff and physicians. David is a spiritually strong youngster and is an inspiration to his family and friends as he tackles this disease. He has experienced many complications, but always bounces back with his same wonderful personality. The many friends, family, neighbors and church family as well as new friends David has met on his journey have provided unbelievable support and prayers and we know that we are not alone in our battle. We are also fortunate to be close friends and neighbors of Andrew T and his family who is also on the St. Baldrick's site being a 16 year old who has traveled this same road starting at age 7. We are blessed to be surrounded by so many who care and are praying for David. We are also thankful to all who donate their time and resources towards research and cures for cancer.