Hope is the daughter of Deb & Jay and the sister of JD. She loves swimming, acting, running, shopping and music (especially Taylor Swift). She is involved with school band playing the saxophone. She is an accomplished singer in her hometown’s “Youth Chorale” and is in her school’s choir.
Her acting career started three years ago with roles in many school and community youth theater groups with her favorite being the lead in the play “Mulan.”
This past year Hope joined the cross country and track teams at school, following in her brother’s footsteps. Hope also has a great passion for food and if you didn’t know better, you’d think she was Italian. Pasta or anything with noodles is what she would prefer for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
“Sauce on the side, please.”
Hope is Twelve. Years. Old.
Hope is blessed with so many wonderful gifts. Possibly the greatest of them are her big heart and her concern for others. When she was younger she and her friend Grace were walking around their hometown square where they met a homeless woman. They came home and decided to have a lemonade stand to raise money for her.
Hope has also run a lemonade stand in an effort to raise funds for the local food pantry. And when she heard that her uncle’s business was slow she told her parents she wanted to have a car wash fund-raiser to help him out.
Just recently she got her hair cut and donated her ponytail to “Locks of Love”, a non-profit organization that provides hair pieces for children with medical conditions who are under eighteen.
Hope is also extremely intelligent, achieving straight A’s this past year in middle school.
On July 22nd, a friend of Hope's Aunt Jodie and Uncle Rob stopped by their house on her way home from work for a visit. As she and Jodie sat on the back porch talking, all that either of them could hear was the laughter and splashing of two little girls enjoying a summer afternoon in the pool.
Today the pool sits cloudy and unused. There is no time to swim. There are too many phone calls to make and doctors appointments to attend.
On July 29, 2009, twelve year old Hope Fuller was diagnosed with Stage 4 Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, a very aggressive tumor. Because of its location on the brain stem, surgery is not an option and radiation is the only method of treatment.
The radiation treatments started on Wednesday, August 5 and are scheduled to continue five days a week for at least the ensuing six weeks.
March 10, 2010
Early this morning, Angels took our beautiful Hope to a place where she will suffer no longer. More information will follow...
October 20, 2009
Soon after the diagnosis of her tumor, Hope was chosen to design one of twelve Holiday cards to be sold by The Cure Starts Now to underwrite medical discovery for her issue and others related to it.
The Holidays are coming fast, and everybody needs cards! Why not these?
September 24, 2009
Radiation is over!!! Hope completed her 31st radiation treatment on Thursday, September 17th. She has been such a brave girl and we are so proud of her! This was a bittersweet day for the family as this also marked the end of the only medically known treatment for this awful disease. Hope continues with chemotherapy as part of a clinical trial.
We ask you all to continue to pray for our miracle as we anxiously wait for the upcoming scans. We thank you for your continued support for Hope and her family.
Hope was the answer to so many prayers and now she is in need of ours. We have to believe that miracles do happen, and that Hope will be another example of that. Please keep the entire family in your thoughts and prayers to help guide them through this most difficult time.
-Many expenses will be incurred over the upcoming months that could never be planned for. The daily commute to and from Chicago for treatments, meals away from home, loss of income once personal & sick days are used up, not to mention medical expenses that insurance won’t cover.
Since these costs are potentially devastating to the family, an account has been set up in Hope’s name for such expenses.
All unused funds will be donated to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation.
Donations can be made to:
Hope Fuller Medical Fund
Golden Eagle Community Bank
(mail) P.O. Box 1930
(visit) 975 Country Club Rd.
Woodstock, IL. 60098
Or click on the Donate button to donate with Paypal.
ONGOING: CANDLES FOR HOPE — PDF
Gold Canyon Fundraising
For more information, call Sara at 815.403.4409 or contact her via email.
ONGOING: TREES FOR HOPE — PDF
Nierman Landscape and Design
For more information, call 815.337.8873.
AUGUST 9: RACE TO THE START 2010 — INFORMATION — REGISTRATION FORM
Emricson Park
Woodstock IL
Come to Emricson Park to join in on a Prediction Run
Registration Fee: $15.00 per person.
Please visit the Facebook page for this event for more information.
Do you want to have a...
FUNDRAISING EVENT?
That's awesome! Thank you for wanting to help in that way!
Due to the overwhelming show of support, we ask that you run all ideas through Denise Graff Ponstein BEFORE your plans are in place to respect the privacy of the family.
Denise will coordinate ALL ideas and we will have a central calendar located on this website and on Facebook.
Denise can be reached by email or by phone — 815.338.8844.
If you would like to assist by making meals for Hope and her family during these incredibly busy days, Grace Lutheran Church in Woodstock is coordinating this effort. Please call 815.338.0554.
For more information about holding a fundraising event, contact Denise Graff Ponstein.
For more information on this website, contact Dave Ladner.
For more information on this website's graphics, contact Lance Claussen.
