ReachOutGiving

Nicholas Modestin with Academy Award Winning Actor Matt Damon at Family Reach Foundation Event & Cooking Live with Chef Ming Tsai & Friends.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year: Before the year 2012 was over Nicholas sent a email out to all his friends, family and classmates for the great year in which he won the fight of beating his Leukemia and just wanted to say Thank You. 

" I AM HAPPY TO BE ALIVE AND ENJOYING LIFE FOR THE GREAT YEAR IN 2012. I WANT TO THANK EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU FROM FRIENDS, FAMILY, CLASSMATES FOR YOUR SUPPORT, CARING, LOVE AND KINDNESS DURING MY 3.5YRS OF BATTLING MY LEUKEMIA CANCER. I WON THE BATTLE OF BEATING MY CANCER AND I CLIMBED OVER MANY BIG OBSTACLES. I AM A CANCER FREE AND HAPPY. MY MISSION NOW IS TO GET BACK 100% IN MY LEGS AND GET RID OF THE LEG BRACES TO RUN FAST AS ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. I COULD NOT HAVE DONW IT WITHOUT YOU GUYS." Love Nicholas Modestin

Dear Nicholas: "Nicholas, your strength while climbing your obstacles is heroic. You are an inspiration for many who have seen how you have handled this with grace. I can't wait to see pictures of you running like a wind. Trust me I have 100% confidence that you will do it with the Nicholas Modestin flare." From Angelo Isaac & Family.

Dear Nicholas: "A very Merry Christmas to you. I am so proud of you for conquering your cancer. You will ableto run fast as your family and friends some day because you are a very determined young man." Love Angel Betty Morin & Family. 

December 1st-December 31st: Nicholas finished off 2012 on a strong note. He had a outstanding performance in his two Christmas Pageant Shows of First Nativity. The first show was for a senior citizens home which brought life, joy and happiness to the crowd and the second show was at the Christmas Eve mass at Queen of All Saints Roman Catholic Church. Nicholas shined with his bright smile as he sang classic Christmas songs and stood tall during his sole in which he read four lines. Mommy and daddy were full os tears of joy watching Nicholas perform. The third and final show will be on Three Kings Day of January 6, 2013 at Queen of All Saints 10:30am mass which will be a full house. With all the practice before getting ready for the Christmas Pageant Show, the last practice ran long before the show for the senior citizens and Nicholas missed the Pediatric Oncology Christmas Party at the Brooklyn Hospital Center. He did not get a chance to see his friends from the hospital who also beat cancer during this year. The one friend that Nicholas has not seen is Andres who he wanted to see at the party. Andres was diagnosed with Leukemia a week later after Nicholas was diagnosed with Leukemia and they became best friends. The Nicholas Modestin Toy Drive of 2012 does not know how much money was donated to the hospital since this year, Nicholas and daddy sent everything to the hospital. The article that was written about Nicholas and his toy drive, is waiting to see how much donations and gifts was given to the Brooklyn Hospital Center Pediatric Department. Next year 2013, the toy drive will go back of setting up place to deliver toys as Nicholas has couple contacts for next in which he will start his toy drive around next September 2013. Nicholas recovered good after beating out the high fever he got days after Thanksgiving. He got a good check out from his oncologist. Nicholas continues to do solid work in all the subjects in Ms. Gilliam-Freeman class. She gave him a shoe box project in which he did on whales and with the help of mommy the project was done and written by Nicholas. Next up she gave Nicholas a project in hwich he had to interview two adults. One on growing back then and now and a family tradition. He interviewed his Aunt Michleee for the tradition in which he got a awsome grade/check mark from Ms. Gilliam-Freeman and the growing part he interviewd his grandfather which he got a smily face/check mark. Both family members were happy to see Nicholas come off with a good grade. With all the work given by the teacher, she gave the students a break with no homework or projects during the Christmas break. The Sunday School class, Nicholas is starting to read and memorize the Our Father and Hail Mary. Ms. Lisa gave the students a project on there baptism in which they had to find pictures of the special day and write the meaning of a baptism.  Diony and Lima continue to stress the hard work Nicholas is putting in during physical therapy. He is going four days a week and they are days he is tired from a long day of school and therapy and they are days he is strong from a long day of school and therapy. Everyday he is more flexible and now his body is getting a better stretch out by Diony and Lima who are rubbing out those tight points in his legs that is much needed. The walking more to school and back has helped a lot along with walking to and from church/Sunday school on weekends. Thanks to the nice weather that is not to cold for December. The two therapist are happy with the consistency of Nicholas and his will to get better. Nicholas does not got back to the hospital till January 18th, but he needs to set up a appointment to get his 4yrs old shots he missed during his battle to beat his leukemia. Santa brought smiles to Nicholas this year. Last he got the Nintendo 3DS and this year he got to add to it. He sat down and learned to play the games he got, but his favorite is the Cars game. He also got a gift in which he will get a chance to go to ToysRus to choose his toy. The Christmas break was spent going to make up classes for physicl therapy and doing some reading, writing and math just to stay fresh and get ready for the 2013 school year. The OT therapist at PS 11 gave Nicholas a new evaluation to see how far he has come since kindergarten class. She was happy with his progress, but could see he still needs OT therapy in which the NYC Board of Education took away and gave him just 30 minute session at school once a month. During the evaluation, she also gave Nicholas' para professional tips and a course on guiding him on holding his balance and catching his fall instead of holding on to a classmate. Nicholas set his goals for 2013. One is to run faster in school, learn more in science class with Ms. Villegas(his favorite). He wants to know more about animals and creatures, get in better shape, get back into the swimming pool for aquatic therapy around the spring time, have his two front teeth to grow back, stay health and strong, continue doing good work in school, listen more to mommy and daddy and overall enjoy life, family and friends. Now that Nicholas has his schedule down with school and therapy, he would like his daddy to land a full-time job instead of working crazy hours with different freelance and part-time jobs during the week. Right now daddy is working as a substitute teacher and would like to go back to school and get his masters in teaching, his sports production job on weekends and other jobs. Some days during the week if daddy gets a early school, he takes Nicholas to physical therapy, while mommy catches up on rest.

November 21st-November 30th: Happy Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving weekend was good and for Nicholas. Mommy and Nicholas went upstate to spend Thanksgiving with his cousins, uncles and aunts and daddy stayed home because he had to work the Friday morning. Friday afternoon with all ther playing outside and going in and out, Nicholas got a fever. First the fever was at 100 then it dropped back to 98 and then Saturday morning around 4am it went up to 102. Once it went up, mommy brought Nicholas back home to Brooklyn. The fever kept going up and down and finally when it did not go down Nicholas was rushed to the ER Brooklyn Hospital Center with mommy and daddy. When he got to the hospital he was 102 and right away he oncologist on call Dr. Sedrak told the doctor in ER to give him a bllod test and two bags of antibiotics. Once the fever went down and the results from the blood test came back, the hospital sent Nicholas home five hours later. He felt good and mommy was happy with the blood test results. Nicholas was a little weak which was expected, but overall in good spirits. During all this time battling his fever there was a shoebox project due with a article of Whales for his 1st grade class. Ms. Gilliam gave the project a week in advance to be due the Monday after Thanksgiving. Daddy took Nicholas to get book on Whales before Thanksgiving to help get information on his project and he sat down with mommy to see how he wanted to design his shoebox. With no Sunday School of Religion, Nicholas started most of his project and since he did not go to school Monday since he had to visit his oncologist for a total checkup, the project was done. The onoclogist was happy with Nicholas' results and the way he looked. He had a little cough, but that comes with battling a fever sometimes. Father Cerielllo at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church was approached by a repoter for the NYTimes.com website who covers Fort Green/Clinton Hills about a story. He told the reporter about Nicholas and how he organized his Nicholas Modestin Toy Drive for The Brooklyn Hospital Center Pediatric Oncology Department. The reporter Gabrielle came over and sat down and interview Nicholas about the Toy Drive and how it helps the kids at the hospital. Daddy was happy with Nicholas' answers and how he carried himself during the interview. The Nicholas Modestin Toy Drive is in full swing and word is spreading. The Toy Drive is for the Hospital Party on Saturday December 8th and for the people who can't donate or drop a gift off for the party, can deliver a donation or gift for cancer kids who be in the hospital around the Christmas Holidays. The fever and the medication took a toll on Nicholas' body that he was home for several days after school in which he did not go to Physical Therapy with Diony and Lima. The NYC Board of Education finally gave Nicholas the IQ test and mommy went for a meeting with the school psychologist Ms. Pine. The results came back and Nicholas is doing a solid job academics, but needs to continue working hard physical to get his strength back in his lower body. During the test Ms. Pine saw the strength and weakness of Nicholas and his academics was strong and she could see sometimes why he takes his time doing some class work, because his body movement, but his concentration is good and takes in information good. The test was to see how far Nicholas has come since his brain was swollen during the early parts of his chemotherapy and when the sweeling went down that is when the brain got hit and triggered a effect of him losing his ability to walk and stand in his lower muscles from waist down. Thank God he got all his functions back. His PT has asked mommy and daddy to check into getting Nicholas another Cat Scan on his brain to see if they see anything. Everyday is a challenge for Nicholas and everyday we see how far he has come and the bright future he has in front of him.    

October 20th-November 20th: Nicholas finally started his PT sessions with Diony at Support By Design after a long delay and battle of going back and forth with the NYC Board of Education on getting the RSA packet. Funny how the BOE works with special needs kids and the fight the parents have to go through for there kids to get the right help and therapy. For the first couple weeks Nicholas was getting adjusted with school and four days days (Tuesday-thru-Friday) of Physical Therapy in which his body was feeling tired the first couple days. Now that he is in a groove and knowing the pattern during the week. Nicholas is balancing his time of doing homework when he comes home from school and then finishing the rest after dinner when he comes home from therapy. Also with the nice weather Nicholas is walking to and from school to get the much exercise that he needs to continue to the get the strength back in his lower body. Diony has being impressed with the progress of Nicholas and his work ethic. He still needs more work on improving his endurance and stamina. He also met his new PT therapist on Friday's. Her name is Lima. She started right away building up his left side in which is the big goal of getting Nicholas back 100% and out of walking without the leg braces. During the PT session, both therapist are giving Nicholas a intense stretch out of his lower body that is making him more flexible that mommy and daddy are doing it more at home. Sometimes Nicholas feels the pains, but he needs it to get back full strength. Hurricane Sandy came and left a path of destruction in the NYC area and New Jersey. Lives were lost and homes got destroyed and burned to the ground. The NYC subway system was shut down for a week after major flooding. With no train system and the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, school and physical therapy was cancelled for a week. During the time at home mommy and daddy were creative to make sure Nicholas did some reading, math and played educational games. He caught up on all the movies he wanted to see on TV. To help the people affected by Hurricance Sandy, the family collected clothes and food and gave it out to the Queens of All Saints Catholic Church for Catholic Charities to pass it out. Hurts to see what mother nature can do with wind and water and leave a path of destruction. Now we just have to come together and help build back up peoples lives and homes. President Obama gets reelected for another four years in office as the United States. This time around congress and Obama have to nail down several issues and stop the bickering and put hate and race aside and work together. Nicholas' first grade teacher Ms. Gilliam gave the kids a lesson on politics and US Presidents. Last year Ms. Kasimow made her class learn the 50 states in order with a song, that daddy and mommy make sure Nicholas does not forget. With a couple holidays during the month, Nicholas took advantage of getting PT sessions at the Brooklyn Hospital Rehab Center with his new therapist Angela who took over for Jeanne who is on maternity leave. The one thing that therapist and the oncologist are happy about is Nicholas' transition for one person to another person with the therapy and school. Nicholas continues to thrive in the classroom. The only problem is that he has fell several times coming down the steps at school. The para professional has to improve on taking care of Nicholas and guiding him more of holding him and watching walk around school. With Nicholas sitting down a good chunk of time during class, sometimes when he gets up his left leg can sleeps on him or just does not have the strength on his first step of walking after sitting down. Ms. Gilliam is happy with his work and how he performs in the classroom. She has a couple things that Nicholas can improve on, but overall after having the parent teacher conference and getting Nicholas' report card, mommy and daddy were all smiles. To see how far Nicholas has come, battling and beating out his Leukemia, fighting off the tumor the doctors found in his body, having his brain swell up and losing his memory, losing all strength in his lower body that he could not walk or stand on his own, using the pediatric walker to learn how to walk again and turning around to learn how to do everything all over again at 3 years old, daddy and moomy were in tears of joy and happiness and impress with Nicholas. There is still improvement, but day-by-day he takes one giant step to a 100%. The weekends are also a full plate of activities for Nicholas. On Saturday he goes to practice for his upcoming Christmas Pagent Play at Queens of All Saints. Right before the Thanksgiving break on Saturday November 17th, the pagent teacher told the kids to drop all paperwork to see how far they how come on memorizing the songs and lines. The kids did a good job for 1st-thru-5th graders on knowing there stuff. Nicholas has four lines to remember and classic Christmas songs to sign. He is enjoying the signing. The big rehersal is on the December 8th with shows on the 15th and Christmas Eve. Later on during the day he goes to Saturday Evening mass with mommy since the kids that are taking Sunday School to get ready for first communion, have to go to mass. On Sunday daddy takes him to Sunday School. His teacher Ms. Lisa gives him homework and one week he had to draw different parts of the church in which he enjoyed doing and getting to know the different saints and the meaning of each one. With school, therapy, Christmas Pagent and Sunday School, Nicholas is in a full swing and is not complaining. He does get tired, but overall life is good and getting for him. The Nicholas Modestin Christmas Toy Drive started. This year daddy has everything going straight to the Brooklyn Hospital Pediatric Oncology/Hematology Unit. Nicholas will be flying high in the air next year, when a foundation that gives kids with cancer a chance to fly in a Blimp next to the pilot. He is so excited when he got the news. He is also entering a writing competition on his fight and battle with Leukemia. Nicholas is also starting to ask more questions of his cancer in which he has a better understanding now that he sees the marks from his mediport, tumor and everyday hard work in therapy. Mommy and daddy are doing the best to explain and show support to him and other kids battling childhood cancer.  Basketball season started and with the New York Knicks starting off hot, mommy is all happy with her team and daddy's teams the 76ers which lost twice to the Knicks even though Nicholas was cheering for both teams, daddy is staying away and will let Nicholas pick his own team. He could pick the Brooklyn Nets as he sat down with daddy to watch some games. He picks the New York Mets because of the colors and he enjoy going to CiTiField.  

October 1st-October 19th: A month has past and Nicholas did not have not one PT class with Diony since class started on September 6th. Daddy and mommy fought the Board of Education. Called, emailed and told all the Supervisors of District 13 Brooklyn how the delay in the RSA is affecting the recovery of Nicholas getting back 100%. Finally on October 18th, daddy went to pick up the RSA at the BOE and the person that helped me last year, helped me this year of getting the RSA packet. After a month and couple weeks Nicholas can start his PT sessions on October 23rd. Good that also Support By Design held Nicholas' spot of 4 days a week of 45 minute session. Nicholas was back in the hospital since he took out his mediport back in August. He ran into his friend Kevin who was waiting to get a spinal tap. During the time waiting to get his blood test, Nicholas painted a frog in chemelon colors and relaxed. Once the Dr. Sedrak and nurse Lynda finished with Kevin, Nicholas was up and was a little nervous as he getting adjusted of taking out blood on his wrist instead of through the mediport. Now that he is off all cancer medications, his body has changed, he is back eating the things his missed eating during treatment and his weight is going up and down. Before seeing Dr. Sedrak, Lynda weighed and took all his vital signs, Nicholas weight now 87 pounds and 54 inches in height. He weight is stable and height he went up one inch. Now we just wait for his blood results in which mommy ask to see his vitamins, lead and sugar level. The next appointment for Nicholas is on January 18th, 2013. Since Nicholas loves to sign and dance, He joined the Christmas Show along with the kids from his Sunday School. Every Saturday till Christmas Eve, Nicholas has to learn some classic Christmas songs and memorized the lines of a play. He is enjoying his time preparing for the show and play. Queen of of All Saints will have the kids perform three shows. One for a Senior Citizens House, Christmas Eve and the first Sunday after Three Kings Day in January. School is going for Nicholas. Ms. Gilliam has him working hard.  After a month into school, Nicholas loves his teacher and work he is doing. The 5th Annual Nicholas Modestin Toy Drive starts on Monday October 22nd and extends till December 21st. Letters to donor will be in the mail. The Christmas Party for The Brooklyn Hospital Center Pediatric/Hematology Department is on Saturday December 8th. So the Toy Drive gifts with go for the Party and the kids in the hospital around Christmas Time. On Sunday October 21st is the Holy Day of Black Christ - Cristo Negro in Portobelo on the Province of Colon, Panama. A lot people come from all over the world to visit Cristo Negro and make a promise. On the same day daddy will make a promise of getting ready and in shape to run the 2014 New York City Marathon in honor of Nicholas and other kids battling leukemia and cancer. Daddy will run the 1/2 marathon first and then the 26.2 miles later. He will join Team Leukemia of New York City Chapter.

September 19th-September 30th: Nicholas started to attend Sunday School at Queen of All Saints Church in Brooklyn to get him ready for his first communion in Spring 2014. The Catholic Church wants the kids not attending catholic school to start in 1st grade instead of second grade like the catholic school children. Mommy and daddy did most of the religious schooling of first communion and confirmation in Spanish and now have to translate everything in English for Nicholas to get him adjusted of reading the bible in english. He enjoyed the first couple Sunday's of class. Nicholas goes to church with mommy on Saturday evening and daddy takes him to Sunday school before the 830am mass. Before Nicholas got dignosed with leukemia he was speaking Spanish at home and with family members and then when his brain swelled up during the early part of his chemotherapy treatment, he lost and forgot things he did at 2.5yrs old. Once the swelling went down, he started therapy and got things back slowly that he lost. The one thing he didn't get back was the Spanish speaking. He understand everything mommy, daddy, family and friend said in Spanish, but he answered back in English. Now on every Monday from the 24th till Christmas break, Nicholas is in Spanish classes after-school to get back his speaking. His teacher Sr. Felipe, picked up how Nicholas understood the language but wasn't speaking it and he knows what he has to work on with him. Daddy continues to fight the NYC Board of Education on getting Nicholas' RSA packet so he can start his physical therapy classes. A month has gone since classes started on September 6th and the DOE is making Nicholas lose a good chunk of recovery time of getting back 100%. Last year Nicholas lost two weeks of OT/PT classes and this year is worse of getting the RSA packet. The DOE bureaucracy is getting to point in which parents around the city of New York are upset of having problems getting the RSA packet for kids with special needs that need therapy ASAP. With no physical therapy that he suppose to have Tuesday-thru-Friday after school, Nicholas is working out with daddy on weekends in the park with running, climbing and agility skills and running around with classmates after-school in the playground to continue improving his mobility and to continue to strengthen up his legs and mind of getting stronger. Depending on who picks up Nicholas from school and how the weather is, he walks home instead of taking the bus. When he gets home, he is a little tired, but feels good to get exercise in until the physical therapy classes start. Now that Ms. Gilliam started giving homework, Nicholas is adjusting himself good of reading a book a night along with writing about what he read, math and spelling. He loves going to school, enjoys what he is learning from his teacher and talk a lot about his classmates. Now that port is out, one day he looked at his body and saw the three lines on his chest/stomach. Mommy explained that one was from a little ball the doctors found in your tummy in which is called a tumor, the second was were Lynda and Nelly gave you the chemotherapy medications and antibiotics and the third line was were the doctors operated on to take out the mediport. He asked mommy will the lines stay on my body or go away. All mommy could say is that a magic cream will erase the marks slowly. Later on next month Nicholas will be getting a psychological test by the school psychologist to see how his body and mind have come and function after 3.5yrs of beating out his leukemia and with all the chemotherapy his body had to intake. Once that is done along with getting a reevalution in occupational therapy, another psychologist from the hospital will see all the results and take it from there to see how Nicholas recovery is going. Daddy started working on writing up the lettter to give out to friends, family, business and foundations for the upcoming Fifth Annual Nicholas Modestin Toy Drive for kids at the Brooklyn Hospital Center Pediatric Oncology/Hematology Unit. How time flies, as the Toy Drive started in 2008 and every year it continues to grow.    

September 1st-September 18th: What a great start of the month for Nicholas and the Modestin Family. The first day of school finally arrived on September 6th and Nicholas was so happy to walking to school after coming off the B38 bus. After two weeks of relaxing and getting ready for school, he was just wanted to see his new 1st grade teacher and see his old and new friends in his class. First off he met Ms. Gilliam a tough and very discipline hard working teacher that is going to work Nicholas and continue to get the best out of him. Daddy was all smiles to also see Ms. Castaldi that will be taking care of Nicholas for the school year on the first day. Day two of the school year took a wrong turn when management of PS 11 took Ms. Castaldi away from Nicholas for various reasons and gave him a new para professional. Daddy/Mommy, Ms. Gilliam and Ms. Castaldi was not happy with the move and especially when management made the move with consulting mommy/daddy and his 1st grader teacher on what they wanted. Daddy spoke to the PS 11 Principal and got a explination along with IEP instructor of the school. Before the day was over Nicholas got a para professional that he knew, but daddy was not happy with the way things went down with the change. Ms. Gilliam was ready to work with Ms. Castaldi and they knew each other and how each will feed off during the class and the school year and now the teacher must adjust to the new para. Daddy will continue to try to get back Ms. Castaldi with Nicholas and for Ms. Gilliam to make her class flow smooth. Nicholas didn't have homework for the first week as the teacher was finding out the strength and weakness of the students and to give teh students a chance to know each other. The science teacher gave Nicholas a little project during class on animals and he enjoyed everything about it and this year he also has a computer class which is teaching how to work a computer for projects and homework. For kindergarten he had two days of physical education and this year he had one day which will be on Tuesday's. Recess is helping him to enhance his stamina and improve the mobility in his legs. The Brooklyn Hospital Pediatric Oncology assigned Nicholas to see a psychologist which was to see how his body and mind is after 3.5 years of treatment to beat his cancer. The psychologist ordered to have Nicholas get reevaluated for the OT exam, because they want to see if the new OT exam is the same way that the NYC Board of Education saw Nicholas back in April. With the Jewish holidays, Nicholas had four days off. On Saturday the 15th, the Modestin Family participated in a walkathon for a foundation that help the family financially during the tough times during Nicholas battle to defeat his leukemia. The family raised $75 for the Francesco Loccisano Memorial Foundation. The walk was in Brooklyn, that started and finished at Pier 67 which the families had to walk to the tip of the Verrazano Bridge and back. Nicholas walked the whole walk. At the end he was tired and slept good at night. Three days later on the 18th, Nicholas was honored along with three other childhood cancer survivors at a special event sponsored by Family Reach Foundation and Cooking Live with Chef Ming Tsai and Friends. The special guest of the night was academy award winning actor Matt Damon. Family Reach was a foundation that help the family during the tough time when the old landlord raise the rent and want us out. They helped out with legal advice, getting us in touch with housing/tenants lawyers and when we found a new place thay paid off the first month of rent. A special thanks goes to the social worker Rosemary for Family Reach for her outstanding work of keeping the family strong and head up during down times. Her calls, emails and always making sure things were good and to see how Nicholas was doing. Nicholas was happy to meet other kids who beat cancer. The night was great when he met Mikalo the Honoree of the night. Mikalo was diadnosed with leukemia at 18 months old and within two year he needed a bone marrow transplant in which he got. Nicholas and Mikalo played and had fun with ice castles while the parents went around thanking the founders of Family Reach. The night started out beautiful when Nicholas met Matt Damon and took lots of pictures from the media and Family Reach photographers and spoke how he is doind. Mommy was beside herself of meeting Mr. Damon. The beautiful smiles of mommy and Nicholas was glowing all night. Nicholas was all dressed up looking smooth. Once the event started, he met all the chefs of the night in which chef Ming Tsai, who cooked a steak meat on the stick for him and he ate it. Along the night daddy took pictures of Nicholas and mommy as they met Chef Mario Batali who mommy was big fan and enjoyed his Orecchiette with Rapini Pesto & Sausage, Chef Floyd Cardoz, Chef Marc Forgione who Nicholas turned down his salmon, but ate his special bread and pork, Chef Masaharu Morimoto who cooked a salmon inside the ice castle and a waffle seafood pizza that was good and finish off the night was the dessert of Chef Jim Dangler and Pastry Chef Laurent Richard which the made a delicious 23 karat gold chocolate pyramid with hazelnut streusel, poached raspberry and caramelized filberts. The whole table ate every inch of the dessert. During the night the family was interviewed by Family Reach. The founders of Family Reach were happy to meet the Modestin Family and to thank us for the beautiful thank you letter that was written by daddy. Daddy was in tears of happiness to meet everybody and to thank them from the bottom of his heart for saving the family. Before the night was over Nicholas took a pictured with every chef and got there autograph and then ran over through the crowd to say good night get a hug and from Matt Damon and his wife and to thank him for coming. Mr. Damon told Nicholas that he was awesome and great fighter that won his battle with leukemia. The morning before the event daddy's cousin Maritza sent a big check for Nicholas to donate to cancer organizations and to children fighting to beat leukemia and other childhood cancer. The money will be distributed to all the foundations who along the way Nicholas bonded with. Thank You Family Reach Foundation for honoring Nicholas on this special night and the inspiration he brings to the family and other kids fighting childhood cancer, Thank You Cooking Live with Chef Ming Tsai & Friends for the great meals and for also raising money to find a cure for childhood cancer and to help families in needs during tough times, Thank You Matt Damon for coming and making the night super special and making all the kids happy to meet you and to all the donors Thank You. The mission is to continue to find a cure for childhood cancer and continue helping families.

Nicholas Modestin with mommy Adriana & Academy Award Winning Actor Matt Damon at Family Reach Foundation Event & Cooking Live with Chef Ming Tsai & Friends.

"I have been teaching for 10 years in the NYC public schools and in my memory of the approximately 300 students I have taught, one student stands out more than any other. His name is Nicholas Modestin and his bravery and courage was inspiring. From the first day of school Nicholas let it be known he was just one of the kids. Academically he was able to read and write in amazing ways for a Kindergarten student. I often asked Nicholas to read his writing in the sharing chair as it was good model for other students and consistently exemplary. He loves to sign and fortunately I love to play guitar so we were a great teacher-student match. When it was time to sign he smiled and sand louder than anyone. He also knew all the words so this was helpful to the class. Nicholas is well kied by his peers and became a leader in reading and math. He also had great moves I witnessed during "freeze dance". Above all else when Nicholas was not feeling well he would fight to hide it to stay in school. His dedication to learning is something that will take him far in life. I look forward to staying in touch with the family for a long time to come. My only fear is that he will get a scholarship to USC(daddy roots for USC Trojans Football) and as a UCLA graduate I will have to make a exception and be happy for him. Perhaps he will go to Harvard instead, the sky's the limit." Ms. Lisa Kasimow (Nicholas' Kindergarten Teacher)

Nicholas Modestin at start of walkathon for The Francesco Loccisano Memorial Foundation and for the Fight Against Pediatric Cancer. The walk was from Pier 67 in Brooklyn to Verrazano Bridge(background). Team Nicholas raised $75.

Nicholas Modestin shaking hands with Congressman Michael G. Grimm at the start of The Francesco Loccisano Memorial Foundation walkathon for the Fight Against Pediatric Cancer.

August 16th-August 31st: Mission I completed as Nicholas is now cancer free and mediport free as Dr. Aladdin took out his mediport on Thursday morning August 23rd at The Brooklyn Hospital Center. After the sugery, the doctor's assistant showed mommy and daddy the mediport and when Nicholas saw it he was excited to see what was in his body for 3.5 years. Before going into surgery Nicholas was nervous that he was not cooperating with the nurses a little to stick the needle in his hand to get ready for surgery, but step in Kristen the Child Specialist of The Brooklyn Hospital Center. She brought joys of smiles to Nicholas not only with her game and Ipad, but her presence of relaxing Nicholas. Kristen got him to relax all the way until the anesthesiologist put him to sleep. Once Nicholas woke up, he went upstairs to visit his oncologist to get his next appointment. The next appointment is on Friday September 7th. Nicholas was curious to see how many stitches were put in his chest after the surgery. The first 48hrs he couldn't jump around as the Dr. Aladdin told him to take it easy. So for two days, Nicholas read books, did some math and writing to get ready for 1st grade. Summer Camp was over on the 16th and this year you see a major improvement in the body mobility of Nicholas. The hard work Nicholas put into his swimming time showed in his legs. Kayla did a outstanding job and now daddy has to continue of getting Nicholas into the pool and improving his lower part of his body. Abuelito was up from Panama for couple weeks and was happy to spend a day with Nicholas. They played and had fun with each other. Spent a day at the movies and went shopping. Mommy and daddy had shuffle days of work as they split hours taking care of Nicholas without losing at time and days from work for weeks left for school. There were days Nicholas was bored, but he always found something to do and play. His cousins from upstate and queens came to visit and he built the train and race tracks. The kids have fun racing all the character cars from the Movie "Cars 1 & 2". The two weeks was also the last time Nicholas was working out in OT with Jen. Since NYC Board of Education took away OT and added a extra PT, Nicholas will not have Jen and will have OT once a month in school. Diony finished off the summer in good stride in PT with Nicholas. He built up his stamina and endurance and wil start school stronger and running at a better pace than he had in kindergarten. When PT classes start in September, he might have Diony do to the time. After seeing how Nicholas was rushed from school to therapy in a span of a hour, mommy moved the classes till 5pm so he can come home eat, relax and do some homework before heading to PT workouts. The next appointment for Nicholas is on October 19th.

  Nicholas posing with his T-Shirt before heading to hospital for a blood test from a a group of special people who honored him. Ann Sutphin and her teammates of Team ATF made and complete The BIG CLIMB of Seattle for Leukemia & Lymphoma of the Seattle region. They climbed 1,311 steps and 69 flights of steps.

A Letter of Thanks to Friends and Family:

Hope all is well & Greetings:

Let’s all Cheer, Holla & Stand up - Today is a very Beautiful Special Day for Nicholas Modestin. MISSION COMPLETED.  After 3.5yrs of battling High Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Nicholas is cancer free and Today August 23^rd the surgeons at The Brooklyn Hospital Center took out his Mediport out of his chest. The Mediport (is an internally installed needle accessed device that is typically used for patients that need long term IV access- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_(medical) was used for blood test, chemotherapy, antibiotics and all medications. THANK YOU & THANK YOU GOD for taking care of our son and giving him strength of beating this deadly disease we call cancer.

On September 22, 2008 Nicholas was diagnosed with Leukemia at 2.5yrs old and today at 6yrs old he is full of smiles of joy and happiness. Our son is alive today for his courage, determination and the solid treatment and hard work care and love from his oncologist Dr. Sadanandan and Dr. Sedrak, nurses Lynda and Nelly, child specialist Kristen for relaxing him before entering the MRI and Cat Scan machines and the Pediatric Oncology staff at The Brooklyn Hospital Center. We Say Thank You. 

Yesterday we listen to Dr. Sadanandan calling Nicholas her Miracle Baby with her big smile, today we hear Nicholas “Built Strong To Crush Out Cancer” energized after going through chemotherapy and having up and down days of his treatment.

Everyday is a challenge for Nicholas. He has climbed over many big obstacles and the next BIG MISSION is beating out a rare side side effect of his treatment called Acute Leucoencephalapathy that left him not walking or standing during the beginning of his treatment. He developed lower extremity weakness, rigity and muscle weakness in his legs. Today he is back walking and with his dedication, motivation, pure will and ambition is the fight to build back up his strength in his lower part of his body and to get back 100% and running at full speed. Now that mediport is gone, he is talking all along about getting into activities/sports in which he can finally play without thinking about his mediport in his chest. He will now visit his oncologist for blood test every two months.

Nicholas will be going into 1^st grade next month. He spent a great year in kindergarten at PS 11 in Ms. Kasimow’s class. Ms. Kasimow got the best out of him and it showed in his grades and work. His classmates so young and smart they always lifted up his spirits after a day of chemotherapy. Thank you Ms. Castaldi a true hard working para professional for taking care of Nicholas during the school year and guiding him to be more independent in and out of the classroom.

On behalf of the Modestin Family we want to thank each and every one of you for your support, care, love, letters, emails, calls, visit and most important your presence. This comes to let you guys know how much your kindness is appreciated.

LOSING IS NOT AN OPTION – Nicholas and other kids around the world are battling cancer is our greatest inspiration to continue advocating for childhood cancer awareness and hoping to find a cure.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made the feel.” Maya Angelou

Thank You & God Bless

Adriana & Felix Modestin Jr.

Nicholas with his Para Professional Ms. Castaldi(L) and his Kindergarten Teacher Ms. Kasimow.

August 1st -August 15th: Nicholas has a freaky accident after going shopping with mommy at Target in Atlantic Mall. While walking down the escalators, while crossing his legs, he slipped and fell down a couple stairs. Thank good he only came away with a couple bumps on the heads and little scrapes on his legs. Target called the ambulance and they took Nicholas to teh The Brooklyn Hospiatal Center. The doctors gave him a cat scan for bruises in his head and he was on his way home. The next day he got strong and weent to summer camp. Nothing could hold him back from going to camp. Leukemia & Lymphoma and the New York Mets invited Nicholas to spend a day with family and friends at CiTi Field. Nicholas had a blast running around the basses, hanging out with Mr. Met, throwing and cathcing baseball with Mets pitcher Bobby Parnell. The one thing that has improved for Nicholas for the summer, is that he lost weight, regain some strength in his left leg and is running a little faster. The water exercise with Kayla in the pool at summer is helping and the intense workout of PT with Diony. For first grade in September, Nicholas will have Ms. Gilliam as his teacher. She sent the list of things he needs to bring on September 6th. Thanks to Sunrise Day Camp for giving Nicholas a good amount of school supplies.

Nicholas Modestin with Mr. Met at CitiField during a beautiful day sponsrored by the great people of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - New York City Chapter.

July 16th-July31st: How summer camp has change Nicholas and the change is all positive. The constant running and moving around has Nicholas losing weight around his waist to give more flexibility of moving side-to-side and up and down in his mid section of his body. His counselor Kayla has Nicholas doing a lot of water exercise that is improving his legs and especially getting back the strength in his left legs that you can see the difference when he is walking. During the two week stretch Nicholas won another award for "Best Back Float" Camper in the pool. Congrats Nicholas for your outstanding job. When school starts on September 6th, Nicholas will be burned up from camp with his new sun tan. Jen continues to get Nicholas to work on his shoelaces and making sure that when Nicholas starts school, he is ready to be more independent and not depending a lot on his para professional. He will still need Ms. Castaldi for extra stuff and to have a extra eye on him since he still wearing braces and walking slow going into 1st grade. Jen OT workout with Nicholas has improved his condition that you can see that having OT out of school instead of during school time, shows that is better to get services outside instead of in school, so the kid would not be taking out of class. Diony with the morning schedule sees a different Nicholas from having him in the evening. The attitude is different with more determination and focus. Before starting school, Mr. Stephens said what Diony was thinking of seeing a different Nicholas from his morning class to his evening class. Diony has seen a improvement in leg lifts and running in short distance in Nicholas. Diony is changing around the therapy of working with Nicholas with sneakers and orthapedic boots to work with strength in his ankles. Nicholas went to his monthly blood test after leaving OT/PT session. Nelly took care of him and Dr. Sedrak was the oncologist for the day. He went up 2 pounds from 82 to 84 and went up one inch from 52 to 53 inches. Nelly explained to Nicholas that once his mediport is taking out his chest, he will be getting IV on his wrist/hand. He is not to happy about the port taking since it is easy to take out blood that way instead on the wrist/hand. The family took a visit upstate to visit grandma and the cousins for a day. Nicholas had a blast as mommy and daddy got some rest. The family wanted to go to the lake upstate, but the rain washed out the plans.

Nicholas getting interviewed by Art Works after teaming up with kids from The Brooklyn Hospital Center Pediatric Onoclogy Unit to paint and color a day under the sea which futured two paintings. Art Works sponsored the great event and showed the kids battling cancer painting at NYU 

July 1st - July 15th: Once school was over Nicholas was ready for camp. Jen and Diony had no PT/OT sessions for the first week in July and with the RSA packet from the NYC Board of Education not ready, Nicholas went to camp for two weeks instead of the Monday, Wednesday and Friday's. He had a blast in which he started in his new class of Rangers. He met new and old camp friends from the Troopers class. Nicholas first year at camp bus counselor Dean was back this year taking care of the kids from Brooklyn. Dean is a future doctor/oncologist who just graduated from Duke University this year. Congrats to Dean. Daddy and mommy made sure to let the camp know to make Nicholas swim everyday and put the muscles and strength back into his left leg with lots of underwater exercise. When Nicholas came home the first day from camp he was full of joy after getting a taste of swimming with the help of Kayla. From the time he got off the bus, Nicholas hugged every camper goodbye and spoke highly of the Ranger class. Once the first week was over, Nicholas came home with "The Most Spirted Camper" Award in which mommy and daddy were happy to see Nicholas smiling and enjoying life and always thinking with a good heart. The first two weeks you could see a difference in the mobility of Nicholas and his body movement and control. Even though he continues to fall sometimes when he wants to make a quick left, he catches his fall better, instead of just falling to his knees. Mommy decided to have Nicholas go to camp between his braces and his orthapedic shoes, just to see which ones helps more with all the running and activities he does. The orthapedic shoes has helped build strength in his legs and helps him more of lifting up his legs while walking instead of dragging his legs. Nicholas went to get his braces adjusted after he felt some tightness while playing volleyball at camp. The family spent Sunday with his cousin Christiaan celebrating his birthday. They played every games, painted, played rough that daddy and Aunt Michele had to stop them several times to remind them that Nicholas has a mediport in his chest. Now that Nicholas is losing some weight, he still has the baby fat to get rid off that he got when he was not mobile and could not walk around during the early treatment of his Leukemia. Once he starts OT/PT he will have a chance to improve his body in time when school starts on September 6th. His ambition and committment is strong that he is becoming a model of hard work and determination. Nicholas told daddy that once he takes out his mediport, he wants to play baseball, soccer and tennis. Mommy wants to put him karate to also work on his legs. The one thing that has not changed in Nicholas is that he continues to get up around 630am like his going to school to catch the 8am camp bus. He gets up smiling and always picks and chooses to wake mommy or daddy up for breakfast, cleaning and washing and heading out the door for camp.

Nicholas(L) at finish line of Sunrise Day Camp Walkathon (L-R) Emily, Little Jennifer and Victor Manuel. They kids inspired Nicholas to finish the walk strong and they had a blast with activities after finishing the walk.

June 15th-June 30th: The last two weeks of the month was fun and enjoying for Nicholas. With New York City Board of Education giving time off between half days and off days, whenever Nicholas went to class there was a field trip or reviewing what he learn for the 2011-12 school year. First came the PS 11 Dance Festival. Ms. Kasimow had the class dancing to "I got a Feeling" from Black Eyed Peas. Nicholas danced his butt off and was in stride with his classmates. He got up, stepped up and shined for his solo dance in the circle. Ms. Kasimow got the best out of Nicholas and it showed in his work. Mr. Stephens prepared Nicholas for kindergarten with hard work, discipline and most important focus enjoy what you're doing. Nicholas finished kindergarten on a solid note. He finished the school year top of his class and will be in a class for the 2012-13 school year with other kindergarten kids who finished tops in there class. The 1st grade teacher that Nicholas is assigned to is strict, hard working and will continue to get the best out of Nicholas. Daddy took a couple days off of work to travel with Nicholas and his classmates to field trip. The one field that stands out was a concert in Fort Greene Park in which the kids walked from PS 11 on Waverly and Greene Avenue to Fort Greene Park. Daddy walked with Nicholas and his classmate and he walked a total of 15 blocks on the roundtrip. Even though he got tired, he walked the whole way. Couple days after fun in the park, Nicholas graduated from Kindergarten. Ms. Kasimow spoke highly about Nicholas and was in tears to see him work so hard and no complaints during the school year while battling Leukemia. He got a big applause from his classmates and the parents. Right after graduation, the class spent the afternoon in the playground and playing around in the water sprinkler. Nicholas and his classmates had a blast going between getting wet and eating popscicles. When it was all done, they went back to class for ice cream and cake. Talk about keeping these kids wide awake. Daddy was helping out and was happy to see Nicholas move around the playground with his classmates and getting all wet. Nothing was more beautiful than watching Nicholas finish off the school year on a upbeat. Now that school is over, Nicholas wil make up all his OT/PT therapy classes and start summer camp at Sunrise Day Camp on July 2nd. Nicholas bonded strong with the whole class and some students, Ms. Castaldi(former Ms. Ross) and Ms. Kasimow wrote a quote on the year with Nicholas.

To K-110 Class & Parents of K-110:

"When  Nicholas walked into Ms. Kasimow's class back in September we did not know what to expect. He was ready for all the challenges facing him for the school year and a fight to beat out his battle with Leukemia. We want to thank each  and every classmate of Nicholas for the support, caring and especially for making his days in class special on forgetting what he was goinmg through. For everyday he came home, he spoke highly of all his classmates and how much they made him stronger. During gym class his classmates made sure Nicholas was alwaysmoving around aznd having a mind of never quitting. We Say Thank You. For every time hi missed class for chemo or a blood test, the Monkey was in his chair and when he came back the energy and high spirit of the class always brought out the beautiful smile in our son. We Say Thank You.

Nicholas had his last chemo back in February and over the summer before he starts 1st grade, he will have his mediport taking out of his chest after he jumped over many obstacles in three and a half years of beating out his cancer. We want to thank each and every one of you for helping Nicholas get through his tough fight during the school year and helping him finish off a great year full of joy and happiness of kindergarten.

This comes to let you know how much your kindness, admiration and love is appreciated. Nicholas is blessed and honored to have great people around him to make sure every day is a beautiful day. You will be forever be in our hearts and prayers for all you have done for our son Nicholas. Thank you for time and consideration.

Love - Adriana & Felix Modestin Jr.

"When I meet Nicholas for the very first time, he was a shy budding little flower. At first Nicholas was not comfortable with me being his own personal paparazzi. As time went by, he slowly began to feel comfortable enough to come out of his shell and begin to blossom. During the nine months I spent with Nicholas, I grew to admire him because he had so many challenges to deal with, but I noticed Nicholas NEVER gave up. I am inspired by Nicholas' strength and will power. There were times when Nicholas was too tired to participate in school activities, but he didn't let that stop him. Nicholas was loved by the entire class of K-110 and when Nicholas was too tired to run around and play during recess, some of his classmates would sit next to him and play with him. Not only did I grow to love Nicholas, but his classmates and his teacher Ms. Kasimow loved him too. I made sure Nicholas was never treated differently and I always included Nicholas in everything. I watched this budding little flower bloom into a confident, strong charasmatic adorable boy we know as Nicholas Modestin" Ms. Castaldi (Nicholas' Paraprofessional)

"Nicholas is a great friend. We sat together at the table and he wlawys helped me. Nicholas is always nice to all the kids and everyone likes him. I hope we're in the same class next year" Nile (Nicholas' classmate of K-110)

"I will miss you Nicholas. You are my bf. We love you" Mia (Nicholas' classmate of K-110)

June 1st-June 15th: Nicholas goes back for a blood and his oncologist explained to him that before he starts 1st grade and if everything goes right when summer camp is over that his mediport will be taken out. Nicholas had his blood test and his results from his May visit came back good. He gained two pounds and now is at 82 pounds and grew a inch in height. He is now at 52 inches. The kid will not stop growing.  One day after school on a beautiful day when daddy had no work or freelance at night and Nicholas had no PT/OT, daddy and Nicholas walked home six city blocks. Nicholas was comfortable and relaxed walking eating his icy and telling daddy how his day was. Once he got home the family ate dinner, Nicholas did his homework and went to sleep. The braces are working more of stabalizing his foot and giving him more balance when walking the distance. TEAM NICHOLAS showed up in stride for the 6th annual Sunrise day Camp Walkathon. The team was smaller this smaller, but we raised a good amount of money. The greatest thing was watching Nicholas walk the whole walkathon middle mile walk. he had a fun walking with his friends Victor Manuel, Jennifer and Elizabeth. The kids ran, walked, kid rocks, sat down, drank water and crossed that finish line with such a strength that they still had energy for fun time. They jumped into the bouncy house, shot baskets, played a little golf and finised off eating cotton candy. The Modestin family was interviewed about the walkathon and how Nicholas has benifited coming to Sunrise Day Camp during the summer. Nicholas walked into Sunrise with his pediatric walker 3 years ago and walked out without the walker 3 years ago. The hard working staff of Sunrise put such a confidence and ambition into Nicholas of walking free of his walker. Jen the OT therapist is teaching Nicholas on tying his shoelaces and independent work that sometimes he gets frustrated, but at the end of the sessions he walks out happy and smiling with Jen. With a month left of school, Ms. Kasimow is giving Nicholas homework on getting him ready for 1st grade. His reading level is up, math is adding two numbres and getting more comfortable with subtraction, science he loves since he is getting a better understanding and view of animals, music he loves to sing and is asking to play a instrument and gym he enjoys running and learning the function of his body and expressing himself. The next appointment for his blood test is on July 10th.

The 2012 TEAM NICHOLAS getting ready to walk 2.5 miles in the Sunrise Day Camp Walkathon.

May 16th-May 31st: The family is still getting settled into the new place. The one thing mommy and daddy are happy with Nicholas is that he got adjusted to the new place fine and he got adjusted of taking a longer walk to school and leaving the apartment more earlier in the morning to head to school. Nicholas body adjusted also of coming home from school and getting ready to head out for PT and OT therapy. Nicholas and his classmate Nathaniel did a outstanding job on the Zebra project for the Safari Jungle projects for the school and parents. Nicholas and Nathaniel had to explain and talk about Zebras when parents came through the jungles of Kenya in Africa. The next day Ms. Kasimow was very proud of Nicholas and his articulation of telling people about the Zebras. The left side of Nicholas is still weak and everyday he is working on turning left without falling. Sometimes Nicholas falls down down when he wants to make a quick left in which his left foot can't turn quick instead the therapist tell to tall a full turn when going left. When he gets up after his falls he hits his left leg in anger, but mommy and daddy tell him the more you walk and strengthen the left leg, you will not fall. Now that Nicholas is off chemotherapy, he is starting to eat more food and getting his taste buds back. The OT and PT sessions continue to get the best out of his. Jen is working on plate carrying since he is starting to eat more lunch from school and has to take his own tray, independent skills, coloring in which during all the chemotherapy he did not want to paint because he did not want to get dirty and get sick with all the dirt. Now Jen has him finger painting and even painted his face one day. Thanks Jen. Diony is seeing more of Nicholas giving more of himself of walking stronger and balancing better during PT sessions. Nicholas still walks with alittle limp, but as he looses more weight and exercises more with OT/PT and during PE at school by the time school rolls around for 2012-12 school year, he should be walking more stronger. The one thing daddy told the summer camp after filing out the application, is to get Nicholas swimming everyday and getting back the strength in his lower waist and into his left foot. Nicholas is all excited to head to summer camp and happy to know he will do more swimming and by the end of the summer if things go right, his mediport will be taking out. After doing the Safari project, Nicholas is driving mommy and daddy crazy with animals and watching animal kingdom and interesting how he explaining the animals to mommy and daddy. He is giving mommy and daddy a course on animals in the African jungle. Now Ms. Kasimow has the learning the 50 states and flags. Memorial day weekend he spent time with the family upstate. Mommy is happy that Nicholas is talking more spanish with her, he still understands everything she says, but the speaking is coming slowing and surely.

May 1st -May 15th: Nicholas went to get his monthly blood test and no change in weight and height from his test in April. He is still at 80 pounds and 51 inches in height.  His oncologist likes the improvement of Nicholas and his mobility and body movement is improving. The oncologist told mommy that either August before school starts or December during thr Christmas break, Nicholas will be having his mediport taking out hos chest so he can join the kids in more activities of contact and running around. having a port in his chest sure does cut down on playing around with a kid having a mediport in his chest. She had him do some writing skills on his visit and came away smiling with the neat work Nicholas did. During the move, Nicholas donated his orthapedic tricycle to the Pediatric Oncology Department at The Brooklyn Hospital Center since he out grew the bike and wanted to give it to a kid who will need it to get better. The tricycle was a big help on getting Nicholas back walking and gave him a confidence of trying his best and working hard to get better each and every day. Now we have to get him a bicycle that fits his body to get the exercise. Ms. Kasimow sure knows how to get the best out her kindergarten class. She has the kids doing a Africa Safari Jungle Project that every kid had to pick out a animal. They had to research, draw and color, find ineteresting facts, read in front of class, she gave Nicholas challenging questions on the zebra that he picked out for him to know and understand come Friday May 25th when the class has the presentation for parents and friends. With the help of mommy and daddy Nicholas' research and interesting facts in a class project was a standout for Ms. Kasimow. She kep the project at school for show and tell. The hand writing of Nicholas is what she liked a lot and the facts of the zebra. The family finally moved into the new apt and now mommy has to plan how she will design the place and were furnitures will go. Since we're starting new, she has to go look at new furniture for the liviing room, a new bed and desk for Nicholas and that is about it. Daddy is just listening yo mommy about were mommy wants the furnitute to be put. The landlord put the child guards in and next is getting some blinds.  The BOE gave the family Nicholas IEP for the summer and for the 2012-12 school year that was finalized. Daddy and mommy will fight it after the evaluation of Nicholas on day 1 of the 2012-13 school year to see how far he has come with the PT/OT over the summer. The family wants to thank all the special people who helped us during the move and gave us the much support and caring. Family and Friends WE SAY THANK YOU. 

Apri 16th-Apr 30th: The final two weeks for the family took a toll on everybody from Nicholas, mommy and daddy. First the family found a nice 2BR apt, but had the first month and security, but could not come up with a fee, so daddy just started looking for a 2BR apt without a fee. The family finally found a apt getting out before the court date of the 30th. The old landlord was happy to see us leave. He argued with daddy for not moving the big couch, but daddy spoke his mind and walk away. Daddy told him, you're the one putting a child with cancer in the street for a extra dollar and for been greedy. On the 28th the family found a 2BR apt to hold us for a year close to Nicholas' school and therapy. Depending on who takes Nicholas to school, he can jump on the B38 or the G line to to head to school. Mommy tried the bus, but it was full and then she did the train which was more comfortable for Nicholas. Nicholas is happy to have his own room, but for now until we get his new bed he will be relaxing and sleeping in mommy and daddy's bedroom. After getting the apt, mommy and daddy had to fight the Board of Education of NYC. The BOE wants to take away OT from Nicholas saying he doesn't need school based OT. Mommy and daddy fought and argued with the BOE during the conference. The lowest point of the meeting was when one of supervisors of the BOE said if Nicholas has a setback he would get back his 2x30 OT services. from that moment of him thinking that about a kid who just beat 3 1/2 years of battling leukemia was not right. I know he did not mean to say it, but it just came out wrong. He apologize and the meeting went on. Mommy spoke her mind and made sure she did not like the statement that was said. Jen spoke via telephone about how Nicholas still needs his OT services. Now mommy and daddy must make a decision on fighting the BOE for the OT services or just wait to see how Nicholas goes into the 2012-2013 school year after have a summer filled with OT/PT and summer camp at Sunrise Day Camp. He will lose weight and with the swimming at camp his left leg will get stronger. he will go to camp MWF and therapt TTH. So at the end the BOE will give Nicholas 4x45 for PT and once a month look at OT. We hope with the new start it will be fresh and smooth and things will look up for Nicholas, mommy and daddy. With all the meetings, moving out and headaches, Ms. Kasimow was very happy to see continue his solid work in class and concentration of doing his work in class, projects, homwork and he weekly reading and writing at least one report of a book he read.

Apr 1st-Apr 15th: Nicholas was back in the hospital for his monthly blood test. First he went to for PT in the hospital. He got evaluated and was just working on exercise sitting down so the therapist can see how much power he can move from his waist. Once the PT was done it was trip upstairs for a blood test. During his wait to get his blood test, Nicholas made a wooden airplane with a hospital volunteer. He went up 1 pounds to 80 and is still the same height at 51 inches. His blood results was good from his test in March and the oncologist gave him multivitamins to take. He is losing weight and his bones are getting stronger. The left leg is still weak and everyday with hard work it is getting back it's strength. Nicholas had a great Easter weekend as he spent it with his grandmother, cousins, uncles and aunts in upstate New York. The weather was great so the kids had a chance to run around. Good Friday Nicholas walked with mommy, daddy and his cousin Karina during the procession. He walked half and got a ride in the stroller when he was tired of walking. The spring break week was full of homework and catching up with makeup classes with Diony for PT and Jen for OT. Diony continues to see progress in Nicholas and his body is starting to change that his learning more to control his fall. The more independent skills he is doing with Jen, the more he is improving of doing stuff by himself. The family continues to apt hunt before the April 30th deadline to get out. The family saw a couple nice apt, but to far from Nicholas school. Since Nicholas walks slow we can't go to far and have to be close to a train or bus to go to school and back home in time to get ready for his ride to take him to OT/PT during the week. Even though the moving process is frustrated, Nicholas positive and upbeat attitude of finding a new place is keeping mommy and daddy smiling. The landlord continues to eye the family down everytime we step outside his building. You can see the look in his eyes of when are you leaving. Daddy paid the rent for April and now the mission is to find a new place to live and not let the marshalls throw us out and not make the landlord win. The next blood test is on May 15th.

Mar 15th-Mar 31st: Nicholas had two fun hard working weeks to finish off the month of March. In school Ms. Kasimow continues to get the best out of him in reading, math and writing. He got a writing and reading award for reading books and writing about the books that he could understand and read in front of the class explaining the book he read. Math is getting tougher for him as his teacher started putting some double numbers to add and subtract in his homework to see how far and how much he understand. Some problems he understand and the ones that he does not he breaks it down using pictures or sticks. The kindergarten class went to Museum of Natural History to see a up close animals from the African Continent. Nicholas had a blast talking about the giraffes and zebras. The end of the month daddy had a meeting with PS 11 in which they want to take away school based OT from Nicholas after he was evaluated. The evaluater said that Nicholas did all the basic things at school that is done for a kid his age. Nicholas can't tie his shoes, can't put on his foot braces, still has problems balancing and carrying his lunch tray, bending down and pulling his pants all the way up, and other things. Nicholas was lucky this year with no snow that he did not have to wear his orthapedic shoes and got a chance to wear his sneakers with his braces. Daddy did not like the decision and is fighting the Board of Education of not taking away the much needed OT. If OT is taken away they will give Nicholas now 4x45 for PT. Nicholas is getting better in some independents things, but with the OT he will get better and more focused on what he is doing. So for now daddy will wait for another meeting to make sure Nicholas still has OT. Nicholas got his new foot braces in which he put cars as his decarations. Nicholas' OT therapist Jen is finally getting him to do hand/finger painting and enjoying art to improve hand and finger movement. While Nicholas was having chemo he stayed away from paint and things that will get him dirty just not to get germs. Now that chemo is over, he is back of painting and having fun with colors. Jen is also working on balance and tying his shoe laces, but first he has to get adjusted of bending over and tying his shoe laces. Diony is seeing more strength and endurance in Nicholas during PT workouts. The left leg continues to build up. The family continues to look for a new apartment before the April 30th deadline. Life is funny that when mommy takes Nicholas to school, the landlord is looking at them likes he waiting to see out decision. Every morning since the court case he stands outside or has one of his co worker stand outside and looking. The landlord also has to watch what he is saying that he kicking us out. What he really needs to say is I'm greedy and I'm putting a child with cancer in the street and when his white cells numbers dropped in November, I raised the rent for a extra dollar. Financial racism is what Fort Green/Clinton Hills Brooklyn is becoming. Forget the loyal folks who were her for 13yrs, I want more money and I will put you in the streets. Congrats to Ann Sutphin and her team members for completing the BIG CLIMB-COLUMBIA CENTER in Seattle on Sunday 3/25 in honor of Nicholas Modestin for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Ann finished the climb in 14 minutes and Nicholas' picture was on the 59th floor. Thank Ann and your team for the special honor and special t-shirts for Nicholas. THANK YOU.

Mar 1st-Mar 11th: A week later after his eyes got red from the chlorine, Nicholas goes to the hospital to get a check and some antibiotics to clean out his eyes. Rough couple days at school to start off March. First he falls down hard on his buttocks during recess and goes to the nurse. The nurse gives him ice and sends him back to class and then he gets a tummy ache for eating a fast lunch to enjoy recess and gets sent to the nurse, but this time a little fever that later went down when he got home. Nicholas is one tough kid who does no like to visit the nurse or go home during school time. HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICHOLAS SEBASTIAN MODESTIN 6 YEARS OLD ON MARCH 7TH. This year Nicholas wanted to celebrate his birthday with his classmates with pizza, cupcakes and ice cream. His classmates were happy for the pizza and theere eyes lit up with joy for the cupcakes and ice cream. After his little fiesta, Nicholas had PT/OT in which he got a solid workout in to end his day. Once he got home he opened up his gifts and cards. Two days later he went for his blood test at the hospital for his monthly check up. He gained back two pounds that he lost and is up to 79pds and is still at 51 inches in height. Now the weather is nice and no snow in sight, Nicholas can start doing more outdoor activities to lose off the weight he gained around his waist that put on while he could not walk early fight to beat off leukemia. His vital signs and numbers from the 2/9 visit was good and now just has to lose the weight. Once summer camp starts in which he will be going three days during the weeks and the other two for therapy, his body will change. He got a Thomas and Friends puzzle as a bday gift from the hospital. Nicholas and other kids from The Brooklyn Hospital were big stars at The ArtWorks art show at NYU on 3/11. The kids got a chance to show out the Aquarium painting they did. First Nicholas got interviewed about what part he drew of the Aquarium and then the whole group got a chance for pictures and talk about the picture they drew. Thank you ArtWorks. Ms. Kasimow got Nicholas working hard again, this time a family tree. So mommy got a design of how to build the tree while daddy started doing the research. Nicholas wanted to put pictures of mommy, daddy, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents and his great grandmother. Once the project was done, Nicholas did his presentation that his teacher was happy. The next appointment for Nicholas is on Friday April 13th to get his monthly check up. The family continues to look for apartment.

Nicholas working out on treadmill during PT at hospital.

Feb 13th-Feb 29th: Nicholas finished off the month with his hard work both in class and his therapy. During his winter break he had to get fitted for new braces. Since he is off the chemotherapy medication and no steriods, his foot is growing. The braces was small and his foot was hurting. The foot specialist measured Nicholas for new braces and he would getting the new ones until March 13th. During time with no braces, he will learn more of controlling his body without the braces. For two day he went away to his summer camp and spent a day doing arts and crafts and swimming. Life is funny. When Nicholas goes indoor swimming, his eyes come back itching, but when he swims outdoor during the summer, his eyes never itch. Must be the indoor chlorine that does not get a chance to breath out into the air. Diony continues to see the improvement in Nicholas during PT and he is happy to see that everyday that his left side of his body is getting back the strength that it needs. He has Nicholas doing a lot of running in space to increase his speed and climbing for leg strength and to see balance and coordination. He also worked out with Shani at the hospital and she worked him hard. From treadmill to red light green light, power walking and medicine ball exercise. Jen is also happy in the independent progress of Nicholas doing things by himself. He putting on his jacket more by himself, getting his pants up more by using more of his knees for a lift and overall getting more how to use his whole body. The family continues to look for new apartment and wanting to get out and find a new place by April 1st. Ms. Kasimow continues to get the best out of Nicholas and it is working. His writing, reading is getting better with reading a book a night along with writing what the books is about. His math work is getting stronger. Thank you Mr. Stephens for showing Nicholas how important math will be to him early in k-thru-6.

The 4th annual Nicholas Modestin Toy Drive for The Brooklyn Hospital Center Pediatric Oncology/Hematology Unit was a great success. Thank you PS 11 Student Body, Faculty and Parents for the toys, New York Yankees and the cancer foundations for your checks to make Nicholas buy toys for his friends battling to beat there cancer. THANK YOU ALL.

Feb 1st-Feb 12th: Nicholas is now starting to participate more in playing activities in his physical education class. He is feeling more comfortable of moving his body around and catching his fall after bumping into a fellow student. One day he played soccer and even though he fell a couple times, he enjoyed himself that his fellow students were happy to see him running around with them and the teacher was happy to see running around and playing. Everyday the body is getting stronger and the left side is building up the strength that it lost. Diony and Jen continue pushing Nicholas to a limit of getting a better hold of his body and build up stamina. The coordination has continue to improve with hard work. Nicholas went for a blood test on Thursday 2/9 and came out looking good. His oncologist was happy to see him glowing with joy and happiness. He gained 2 pounds in which we knew was going to happen, but he went up 2 inches to 51 in height. We did not get the results of the test, but will get it later. The next blood test is a day after his Bday on March 8th. Nicholas had a great fan as Andrew Sutphin donated $100 to the Brooklyn Hospital Center Pediatric Oncology Unit in honor of Nicholas. Thank you Mr. Sutphin. The best is yet to come on March 25th in Seattle Washington. Ms. Ann Sutphin sister of Andrew is part of a team that is climbing The Big Climb in honor of Nicholas Modestin. She is part of a team that will be climbing the stairs of the Columbia Center - the tallest skyscraper in downtown Seattle. They will climb 69 flight of stairs, 1311 steps and 788ft of vertical elevation. All proceeds benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The Modestin Family will be rooting for Ann's team. Thank Ms. Sutphin and your team for the great honor and doing this special event for Nicholas. Ms. Kasimow continues to challenge Nicholas and the K-110 class at PS 11. She has given Nicholas some good Black History Month projects that he has to read first and then questions and answers in which he has to write about. She has gone from MLK, Rosa Parks, Jesse Owens and Harriett Tubman for now. Nicholas went bowling at his friend Jennifer's bday and he came home so happy after having two strikes during the party. The family continues to look for a apartment and hoping to get one soon so we don't have to give the landlord no more money.

Nicholas with cousin Laura and Anthony.

Jan 23rd-Jan 31st: Everyday Nicholas is growing and now his feet is growing as he will need a foot brace in the upcoming weeks. When his winter break comes, he will be going to his foot doctor and going to physical therapy. Nicholas' PT at Support By Design Diony is happy with the progress of Nicholas' workout. For every workout, his left side of his body and left leg is getting stronger and his mobiolity to move side to side is stronger with more balance and coordination. Couple days he went to school without the foot braces and his teacher and para were happy to see him walking strong and playing with his classmates during recess. Ms. Kasimow continues to praise Nicholas on his hard work in school with much focus and ambition to learn and get better in everything he does. The homework she gives to Nicholas has him thinking and working alone and getting adjusted better with grammar and spelling. His independent skills have made a major improvement with his work with Jen his OT therapist at SBD. Jen is now working on tying his shoelaces, mix of PT/OT to put mor coordination and strength in his body, independent work that he has a chance to figure out how to get out of a situation and like Diony working to build back up his left side. The family got good news and bad news the last week in January. Back in mid October when Nicholas white blood cells, the landlord wanted to get us out to raise rent and gave us notice. November he gave us 30days to leave and with Nicholas white cells still low, the family could not move. Once his numbers came back up to 5.1 from 1.4, we had to go to court to ask for more time to look for a place. After going to court, the judge gave us a break back not paying back the full amount of rent we owed, because the landlord left us with cold water in the kitchen sink, never painted the walls in teh bathroom that are pealing and with Nicholas battling leukemia, he gave 90 days to find a new place. The family has till April 30th to find a new place. We just have to leave since the landlord is more about money and doesn't care about Nicholas' health and we have to make sure that we don't go to far away from his school and to make sure there is transportation to get him to and from school. We just have to hope for the best and stay strong and everything will fall in its place. Nicholas is beaten his cancer and everyday he is taking big steps to get back walking strong and to run fast and the family is staying together to get through all these tough situations that we're facing. I want to thank our lawyer Nina for helping us in court and all the lawyers who gave daddy advice on fighting the landlord and to all the organizations and foundations that are helping us out during these tough times.

Nicholas flushing out his mediport after his last spinal tap 12/15/11.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!!! Jan 1st-Jan 22nd: Nicholas brought in the new year full of joy and smiles as he got closer to having his last chemotherapy medication treatment on Jan 12th. Nicholas walked into the oncology unit with mommy happy knowing no more 2 or 3 injections into his body. His lost 1 pound and gained a inch in height in which he is at 50 1/2 inches. Also during the early part of the month, Nicholas went to see the nuerologist to check his body movements. School is going good as Ms. Kasimow has him writing more about the characters he is reading and is starting on Black History project. First it was MLK and next up Rosa Parks. Math he is improving with word problems and figuring if the question is addition or subtraction. Sasha from the Leukemia Society and Kristen went to Nicholas class K-110 to talk the class about Nicholas 3.5 years battle to conquer his cancer. The presentation was great and the questions from the kids were stright to the point that showed Sasha and Kristen they know a lot about Nicholas. Great News on Nicholas Modestin. After three and half years of battling to conquer his Leukemia in which he has climbed over many and big obstacles, Nicholas had his last chemotherapy treatment medication last week Thursday 1/12.  Thank you god for giving him strength. I want to thank each and everyone of you and your families for your support, caring, love, letters, emails, cards and phone calls. Now he will be on medication for the next six-to-eight months and having monthly visits to the oncologist for blood test. Then sometimes during the summer his mediport wil be taken out. The bravery of Nicholas continues as he is working hard with all his determination and ambition in physical and occupational therapy to get back 100%. He wants run fast as his classmates and as he says"I want to run faster than my daddy". I told him I will get back in shape and one day run the NYC Marathon in honor of him and other kids battling cancer. Thank you and god bless. PT and OT is getting intense everyday that his coordination has a major improvemnet. His next appointment is on February 9th to get his blood tested.

Nicholas resting after last spinal tap on 12/15/11.

Nicholas getting ready for last spinal tap.