Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Olivia Wise, The Teen Who "Kept Roaring" Dies
(CNN) -- Olivia Wise, a teenager who refused to let an inoperable brain tumor kill her spirit, died Monday.
Olivia gained fame in the last weeks of her 16-year-long life when a Katy Perry song she recorded in a Toronto studio in September became a viral hit online.
"She died peacefully in her home surrounded by the extraordinary love of her family," a family statement sent to CNN said.
The teenager said that she didn't want people crying at her funeral, but that they should celebrate her life, her mother wrote in a letter to CNN.
Her version of Perry's hit "Roar," which she recorded in September after learning there were no more treatments available, drew the attention of Perry after it was published on YouTube in October.
"I was very moved and you sounded great," Perry told her in a video posted on YouTube. "I love you. A lot of people love you and that's why your video got to me. It moved everybody that saw it."
Perry concluded with: "Keep roaring!"
The international attention drew more than a million viewers to Olivia's song and helped raise $77,000 for the Liv Wise Fund that was started in her name in support of brain tumor research.
The video shows OIivia sitting in a wheelchair in the middle of the studio, singing softly at first and struggling with her breaths.
"'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar."
Her energy grows and she smiles as she sings "I got the eye of a tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire."
"Olivia is a fighter and has gone through the fire," her cousin wrote in the post under the video posting on YouTube. "In fact, she was going through the fire while she recorded this song, but you wouldn't know it, because she was dancing right through it."
Her family posted another song video on YouTube just days before Olivia's death. She wrote "Simple Girl" -- a song about how she wanted to live life -- when she was 11. The only time she sang it was on September 6, during the same session in which she recorded "Roar."
"In many ways, Olivia has lived a shortened, but full life," her mother wrote in the letter to CNN.
Wise was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of brain cancer in January 2012 after she suffered a seizure.
She rarely complained about the grave prognosis, her mother said. "Every day, she wished for a cure, and rarely succumbed to negative thoughts."
"To tell the truth, her diagnosis didn't change her personality," her mom said. "It only enhanced it. She took the news in a mature, reasonable, responsible way. ... Even in the most difficult moments, she managed to bring laughter and friendship to all that were caring for her."
Our hearts and prayers go out to Olivia's family and friends.
Olivia gained fame in the last weeks of her 16-year-long life when a Katy Perry song she recorded in a Toronto studio in September became a viral hit online.
"She died peacefully in her home surrounded by the extraordinary love of her family," a family statement sent to CNN said.
The teenager said that she didn't want people crying at her funeral, but that they should celebrate her life, her mother wrote in a letter to CNN.
Her version of Perry's hit "Roar," which she recorded in September after learning there were no more treatments available, drew the attention of Perry after it was published on YouTube in October.
"I was very moved and you sounded great," Perry told her in a video posted on YouTube. "I love you. A lot of people love you and that's why your video got to me. It moved everybody that saw it."
Perry concluded with: "Keep roaring!"
The international attention drew more than a million viewers to Olivia's song and helped raise $77,000 for the Liv Wise Fund that was started in her name in support of brain tumor research.
The video shows OIivia sitting in a wheelchair in the middle of the studio, singing softly at first and struggling with her breaths.
"'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar."
Her energy grows and she smiles as she sings "I got the eye of a tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire."
"Olivia is a fighter and has gone through the fire," her cousin wrote in the post under the video posting on YouTube. "In fact, she was going through the fire while she recorded this song, but you wouldn't know it, because she was dancing right through it."
Her family posted another song video on YouTube just days before Olivia's death. She wrote "Simple Girl" -- a song about how she wanted to live life -- when she was 11. The only time she sang it was on September 6, during the same session in which she recorded "Roar."
"In many ways, Olivia has lived a shortened, but full life," her mother wrote in the letter to CNN.
Wise was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of brain cancer in January 2012 after she suffered a seizure.
She rarely complained about the grave prognosis, her mother said. "Every day, she wished for a cure, and rarely succumbed to negative thoughts."
"To tell the truth, her diagnosis didn't change her personality," her mom said. "It only enhanced it. She took the news in a mature, reasonable, responsible way. ... Even in the most difficult moments, she managed to bring laughter and friendship to all that were caring for her."
Our hearts and prayers go out to Olivia's family and friends.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Friday, November 22, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Middle Schoolers Teach All Of Us A Lesson
While the NFL is dealing with the issue of bullying in the Miami Dolphins locker room, a middle school football team in Michigan has a deeper understanding of the game that pros may never reach.
The Olivet Eagles football team at Olivet Middle School in Olivet, Michigan, decided to run a play and intentionally not score, all without their coaches knowing.
The football team planned the play for weeks, all so they could set up a very special moment for a special boy.
Keith Orr is a special needs child, and his buddies on the football team decided to give him the chance to run for a touchdown.
Sheridan Hedrick, a player on the team, would’ve easily scored a touchdown, but he instead took a knee on the 1-yard line, much to the dismay of the crowd.
That was until the next play happened: the “Keith Special.”
The ball was hiked and immediately handed to Keith, who ran forward as his teammates protected him from the oncoming defense. Keith scored without a scratch.
The boys did much more than help Keith score a touchdown; they brought a community together.
“Yes I’m excited and happy that he made a touchdown, but what have these boys showed this community? That’s what gets to me,” said Keith’s mother, Carrie Orr, to WILX. “They’ve got his back. And he knows it.”
We can all learn a lot from the boys on the Olivet Eagles, as they have shown a certain sense of humility and understanding many of us adults struggle with.
The Olivet Eagles football team at Olivet Middle School in Olivet, Michigan, decided to run a play and intentionally not score, all without their coaches knowing.
The football team planned the play for weeks, all so they could set up a very special moment for a special boy.
Keith Orr is a special needs child, and his buddies on the football team decided to give him the chance to run for a touchdown.
Sheridan Hedrick, a player on the team, would’ve easily scored a touchdown, but he instead took a knee on the 1-yard line, much to the dismay of the crowd.
That was until the next play happened: the “Keith Special.”
The ball was hiked and immediately handed to Keith, who ran forward as his teammates protected him from the oncoming defense. Keith scored without a scratch.
The boys did much more than help Keith score a touchdown; they brought a community together.
“Yes I’m excited and happy that he made a touchdown, but what have these boys showed this community? That’s what gets to me,” said Keith’s mother, Carrie Orr, to WILX. “They’ve got his back. And he knows it.”
We can all learn a lot from the boys on the Olivet Eagles, as they have shown a certain sense of humility and understanding many of us adults struggle with.
Prayers requested: Super-Typhoon Haiyan Nears The Philipines
A neighbor's son teaches English in the Philipines. Please keep him and all of the people there in your prayers.
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Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Vanderbilt Opens Cancer Targeted Therapies Center
Taking part in last week’s ribbon cutting for Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center’s new Center for Cancer Targeted Therapies were, from left, C. Wright Pinson, MBA, M.D., Carlos L. Arteaga, M.D., Orrin Ingram and Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D. (photo by Susan Urmy)
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center leaders formally dedicated the space for the new Center for Cancer Targeted Therapies (CCTT), located in the Infusion Center on the second floor of The Vanderbilt Clinic, at a special ribbon-cutting held during last week’s fall meeting of the Cancer Center’s Board of Overseers.
Led by director Carlos L. Arteaga, M.D., professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology and associate for Clinical Research, the CCTT is an extension of the Cancer Center’s expertise in personalized cancer medicine, Phase I trials and non-invasive imaging.
Through the VICC Personalized Cancer Medicine Initiative (PCMI), investigators focus on genomic signatures in a patient’s tumor and use that information to match the patient to a targeted therapy.
Patients with various forms of lung, breast and colorectal cancer, along with melanoma, are already being screened for genomic markers that help physicians decide on the best course of treatment.
The CCTT leverages the strengths of the PCMI, along with the VICC Phase I Program, led by Jordan Berlin, M.D., Ingram Professor of Cancer Research. Phase I clinical trials are designed to test new compounds in humans to determine potential doses and toxicities.
The new CCTT will also harness the capabilities of the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Sciences and the Division of Interventional Oncology in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences.
The goal of the new initiative is to streamline drug development efforts at VICC using leading-edge molecular profiling of tumors and novel imaging approaches that predict drug action and efficacy. This integration will help VICC expand the center’s early phase clinical trials program and contribute to faster approval of new targeted drugs and combination therapies for cancer patients.
“The creation of this new center is a testament to the continuous commitment of our institution to the development of new and effective anti-cancer therapies,” said Arteaga, also the Donna S. Hall Professor of Breast Cancer Research.
“As we dedicate this new center, we are also celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Cancer Center,” said Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D., director of VICC. “The CCTT is the next logical step in the growth of the Cancer Center and it marks another defining moment in our efforts to provide the best therapies for our patients.”
The CCTT also will create more research and training opportunities for basic, translational and clinical investigators.
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