Nolan

Nolan was born on August 16, 2008, a mere 9 minutes before his little twin brother, Calvin. He took his first breath as an extremely high pitched squeal. This squel became his identifying characteristic! His mommy and daddy could always tell who was awake in the boys' crib.

Nolan's mommy and daddy also identified Nolan by his "little man" face. Although they were to find out later that the boys were identical, Nolan had a wise little face. He also had a lot more hair than Calvin.

Nolan's parents noticed some little bruises on Nolan's legs when he was 4 months old. His mommy knew what it was immediately & while she was fearful to tell anyone, the doctor was called & the whole family headed down to CHOP late on the night of December 13, 2008. In the wee hours of December 14, 2008, a team of doctors & nurses confirmed Jeff & Erin's worst fears that Nolan had leukemia. It was not until later the next day that they would learn that his cancer was Infant ALL, like his big sissy, Avery.

Nolan's fight was much more intense than his sister's. He did not get a chance to go home following his diagnosis. In February Nolan contracted RSV (generally, a common cold) while his immune system was compromised due to his chemotherapy. Nolan experienced respiratory failure & was moved from the oncology floor to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

The doctors & nurses at CHOP fought hard along with Nolan to keep his little body & spirit here with us, but on March 18, 2009 Erin, Jeff & Calvin had to say goodbye to Nolan. After 6 weeks of support for his sick lungs, his heart was too weak to support him any longer. Nolan passed away in Erin's arms with his daddy by his side.