12/28/05 Tristan Update:

Dear 911 CARES,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Tristan is on the final stretch of his chemotherapy treatments. Only 4 or 5 left, so he should be finished March/April '06. His surgery has continued to besuccessful; the cast has been downgraded from a full "spica" cast (hips all the way down the legs with a bar between them) to just his right leg and up around his waist to stabilize it. His orthopedic surgeon recently viewed x-rays which show bone growth on the area that was grafted with cadaver bone!! This is most excellent news since chemotherapy slows all types of growth and healing.

Tristan is quite the trooper; he gets around with hardly any trouble at all. He crawls all over the floor. Nothing holds this little boy down!!

Thanks to everyone for their continued love and support!!

Sincerely,
Rachael Cassidy
Tristan's mom

_________

10/29/05 Tristan Update:

Dear 911 CARES,

Tristan is back home from surgery. He did just awesome. He had the cancer removed and a bone graft. This hopefully makes him cancer free, per his mom. He is in a gigantic cast, and pretty much immobile, but that doesn't keep him from trying to move around. What a brave little guy he is.

Joy Willis – SHASCOM

Note from 911 CARES – The family has obviously piled up quite a financial burden due to medical necessity and co-payments. If you can make a direct donation or help in any way, please contact Joy Willis by e-mailing shascom6@snowcrest.net or make an online donation at www.911cares.com Thanks! We'll surely keep you updated on Tristan and all of our 911 CARES Kids!

Kevin Willett

PSTC - Public Safety Training Consultants
www.pstc911.com www.911cares.com
WK: 650-591-7911 x 102
FAX: 650-591-8911
PGR: 800-880-5277
E-mail: kevin@pstc911.com
PO Box 5508 - Redwood City , CA 94063

Original Activation

Tristan Cassidy

NOTE FROM 911 CARES:

Friends of 911 CARES,                                              July 12, 2005

We have a important 911 CARES Activation to help the 17 month old child of a California Dispatcher.  Please pass this on to fellow dispatchers, first responders and print a copy for your agency bulletin board. SHASCOM is in northern California near the Redding and Shasta area.

Please direct any inquiries directly to Joy Willis at SHASCOM.  His information is below.  Please send your cards, letters, encouragement and prayers to them.  You will see that Tristan has MANY treatments and long drives ahead of him.  Maybe sending some kids DVD's or gas cards would be a help!
See below for details:

Dear Kevin and 911 CARES,

One of our SHASCOM dispatchers, Rachael Cassidy, has a little boy with bone cancer.  Her 17 month old son, Tristan, has been diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a treatable cancer.  He is undergoing a course of treatment in Davis, CA.  The treatment is expected to take about a year.  Rachael has to bring Tristan down to Davis, a two hour drive, every three weeks for treatments.  They have to stay between 3 and 5 days each time.  The SHASCOM dispatchers have purchased a cell phone and portable DVD player for Rachael and Tristan.  We have also set up a bank account for them, with automatic donations coming out of our paychecks.  One of our boating safety deputies just brought a huge personal check in, because he has grandchildren.

Rachael and her family and friends would appreciate prayers, positive thoughts and any cash donations to go towards the travel and medical costs. Rachael is a wonderful dispatcher and has always displayed the most incredible compassion for everyone.  It is now Rachael's turn to receive some of the kindness she has always shown to everyone.  If you'd like to see a great picture of this cute little kid, e-mail Kevin@pstc911.com and I'll send it to you. We don't send it with the e-mail blast to avoid getting spam blocked.

Make checks payable to:  Rachael/Tristen Cassidy Fund and send them to Joy Willis at the address below.

911 CARES will match donations up to $500 for donations made over the next week.  Make sure somewhere in your correspondence, you mention 911 CARES so they know to ask for the matching funds!

**11:30am update. Tristen didn't react well to his most recent chemo therapy treatment and is in a local hospital.  Please hold a special prayer in your heart for this little guy!** Kevin
 
Thank you,
 
Joy Willis
SHASCOM Operations Manager
shascom6@snowcrest.net
3101 South St
Redding, CA  96001
530-245-6512