Dear friends,
It is with tremendous sorrow that I must tell you our hero has gained her wings. I imagine she will soar over all of us to make sure we are all ok. Niki left this world with grace & dignity passing quietly in her sleep and on her terms this morning. We could not have asked for her passing to be more graceful. The children and I will grieve together standing tall with chins up at Niki’s sprits side for now and forever. We do already & will forever miss her terribly.
Please know that Niki lived an incredible life. The life of 10 people really. She never feared life or death. She enjoyed every moment, she laughed, cried, & loved with all of her being. Mostly, Niki lived while she was with us. Niki loved to talk to strangers of all walks of life, just to get their perspective on whatever was important to them. She taught others to be better people and to give of themselves. She reminded all of us with her writing, poetry, her heart to smell the flowers, enjoy the setting sun or the rising moon. All of this before being diagnosed with brain cancer.
Once diagnosed, she changed the rules a bit. She networked, researched, shared, studied, and made friends and acquaintances. Niki dove into the bt world with the same zest & dedication she had for living itself. As she put it, “I am fighting for my life and the lives of others”. It paid off. She bought herself time, entered Dr. Okada’s vaccine trial and we know this gave her another year to fight, another year to enjoy life with her family & friends. None of this could she have done alone. Recently, she had a hand in saving my step-moms life as an inexperienced surgeon attempted to remove her tumor. Niki’s work directly lead to Al Musella’s, “guide for the newly diagnosed” being given to, and which helped my parents to realize that they in fact had time and the resources to get to a BT center. Niki was so proud of her BT buddies, fellow researchers, and warriors. She gained the respect of her peers only with the help of these same peers. To all of you, I would like to personally thank you all for the friendships, the research, the tears, the hugs and the love… THANK YOU!!! I would also as that you not give up, push the envelope, test the boundaries and continue towards the cure. It will come!
Please hold off on flowers and the like. Funeral services will be announced in the coming days.
Thank you all,
Chris, Devin and Zachary
