BISB Community Rallies Around Team Nixon

As many of you are aware, this year has been very difficult for one of our long-standing families. Karen and Shaun Clarke have two children, Hamilton and Nixon, who are now in their fourth year at BISB. Nixon, the youngest, was diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia over Thanksgiving 2017. After intensive treatment, Nixon was declared in remission in January 2018. However, this by no means signals that he is cured. Nixon endures 3 weekly cycles of intensive Chemotherapy with the highs and lows of treatment side effects, and will continue doing so until January 2020 with the aim to find his forever cure.

You might see Nixon in the playground from time to time, when he is well and not at the clinic receiving Medicine or Blood Products and, provided his Neutrophils are ok (the little cells in our body that fight infection), he can do most of the things that the other kids do. He was seen on the ski slopes at the end of the ski season and has started learning golf, in addition to continuing on in his mission to play the electric guitar like his AC⚡️DC hero, Angus Young.

Hamilton has been as much a patient in this journey as Nixon. Karen is grateful that “he has been supported by the strength and empathy of the incredible community at BISB. He has had a few low moments during Nixon’s treatment and has probably had more use of an Xbox than we ever would have typically allowed. However, for the most part, he has shown amazing love and resilience in our ever-changing world, not to mention he has been the best big brother.”  

Nixon and Hamilton spend a lot of time at the Jimmy Fund Clinic. The Jimmy Fund solely supports the fight against cancer at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, raising funds for adult and pediatric cancer care and research to improve the chances of survival for cancer patients around the world. The Jimmy Fund Clinic at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a place where children and their families find hope. As one of the world's premier centers for research and treatment for pediatric cancers, the Jimmy Fund Clinic provides compassionate outpatient care for patients and their families. The Jimmy Fund Clinic follows the "family-centered care" philosophy of Dana-Farber founder Dr. Sidney Farber, assuring that a patient's psychological, family, and spiritual needs, as well as their medical needs, are met.

The Jimmy Fund is celebrating 30 years of its annual Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk on Sunday, September 23, 2018 with an anticipated 9,500 participants, and an aim to raise $9 million to support research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. With four routes to choose from, Team Nixon has chosen the 5K Walk which starts at Dana-Faber, in the Longwood area, and ends at the Copley Square Finish Line.

Having experienced the immense benefits of the work of the Jimmy Fund first-hand, the Clarke family is inviting you to walk or fundraise for the 5K with Team Nixon. There are so many ways that you can help the invaluable work of the Jimmy Fund:

• Walk with Team Nixon on the Sunday, September 23 and commit to helping raise money for Pediatric Cancer. This option needs all participants to commit to fundraising $325 per adult and $125 per child. Join Team Nixon by selecting our team at JimmyFundWalk.org/goto/TeamNixon.
• Virtually Walk with Team Nixon. If you are unable to walk on the day, there is virtual walk which still allows you to participate in the fundraising. Select the ‘virtual walker’ option at the above link and commit to $125 of fundraising per registration.
• If raising the minimum amounts is too much of a commitment, you are invited to sponsor one of the participants already registered and help them to meet their fundraising commitment. Feel free to sponsor Nixon or Hamilton, or their friends Xavi and Rafa Fakoury, or Alex and Lucas Johnston by visiting the above-mentioned link.
• On Sunday, May 20 from 11:00 a.m. -  3:00 p.m. the Jeffrey Lyle Salon will be offering $50 haircuts to raise money as part of their commitment to join the Clarke family in the Jimmy Fund walk and raise $300. If you would like a little pampering or would like to donate this way, please call or email the salon to set up an appointment. The salon will be playing lots of AC⚡️DC at this fun-filled event specifically for Nixon.

Karen and Shaun want to thank the BISB community for the overwhelming support. “We have been showered with food, offers to help with childcare and pickups, and much much more. Many of you continue to offer support and want to find ways to help us and so this walk is a way in which the community can help. The strength of this community is wonderful and we are most grateful.”