SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOS AND GALLERIES

**12-23-09
Hello everyone! I am glad to see that people are still visiting this site and leaving comments. I know it has been awhile since I have updated the site but have not found any new photos of Alyson. Hopefully I will be able to find some new stuff and post soon.

Wow, it has been 5 years without Alyson and still I get emails and run into people that Alyson's story has touched. It is comforting to know that even though Al has been gone for 5 years that she is still having an impact on others. I still think about Alyson often and wonder how my life would be if she was still here. I truly believe that Alyson is in heaven looking down at me and helping me choose the right path when the going gets tough. Hopefully I have been on the right track and making her proud. Everything that our families have been through while Alyson was alive has made an impact on how we treat loved ones and what we do. So even with her passing some of us are a better person than we were.

I was fortunate to have found someone who loves and cares for me and have married. The great thing about my wife is she understands what Alyson means to me and has been very supportive of my tributes to Alyson and my constant recollections of stories about Alyson. I now have a 1 year old son that I know that Alyson has been watching over since day one. When I found out my wife was pregnant I was scared. I was scared of the "what ifs" I was scared of the baby being sick or even worse developing cancer. I secretly felt the same type of anxiety I got every time the doctor would give us bad news about Alyson. But I kept that all to myself and talked to Alyson. I told her to please watch over little Luis and to protect him from anything bad that can happen to him. It comforts my wife and I to know that we have such a strong guardian angel on our side protecting our baby. Another thing that I know is a sign from Alyson is Luis' birthmark he has on his forehead, which is the same birthmark that Alyson had!! I call it her angel kiss to him, which makes me know that she is watching over him.

I still keep in contact with Alyson's family and they are all doing well... including Pepe!

Well I just wanted to give a quick update and thank everyone who continues to take the time to leave comments and read her story. It means a lot to us.

P.S. I have added a photo of my son getting his first haircut.

Merry Christmas!


**12-23-05**
1 Year anniversary of Alyson's death.
New Photo Posted of Alysons Grave with a little Christmas spirit!
And a message from me in the alysonsfight.com forum.

**10-20-05**
Alyson would be celebrating her 22nd birthday Nov. 24th.. And just like I would be doing if she was here with me physically, I am going to plan something for her... One Idea is to put a plaque or something similar on a tree near her site so people who visit the cemetary can read about our Alyson!! Any other ideas?? Let Me know.. Email me or leave a msg here... Alyson1124@yahoo.com
ALSO!! I have a bunch of baby pictures of Alyson that I will be posting soon... so Keep checkin back. Thanks for all the emails and support!
Luis-


**6-1-05**
Searching through my photo Archives I found some photos of Alyson my brother took of her while we were driving to orlando..

**4-21-05**
Before I met Alyson, my dog was my best friend... Kiara was being trained for Search and Rescue and was VERY good..(all before 9-11) Kiara took up most of my free time. Well when I met Alyson she obviously had my attention more than a dog!! Sadly Kiara died and I lost interest in SAR. ALyson was my new best friend and even through the cancer we had many great times. Well about 2 weeks before Alyson died we spoke about my future alone, and how i was gonna cope losing her. She said, "before you met me you had a great dog... and now before i leave i want you to get another great dog and make me proud! train him to do good things!" I thought that was great and something to keep me from getting depressed. So I searched around for real German bloodline shepherds and went to see the litter. I had the pic of the litter at 8 weeks and was very happy! I brought the pup home and showed him to ALyson... she always loved puppies and we would go to the puppy stores and she would play with them. Well she named him max, and told me to take care of him. At that point she was too sick to play with him but she petted him and cuddled him in her bed.
I uploaded a new pic of max at Alyson's garden. you can view it below.


**4-12-05** Charlene will be giving a small speech on Friday April 22, 2005 at the Relay for Life at J C Handly Sports Complex on Kings Avenue in Brandon. The kick off starts at 6:00 so I think Charlene will talk close to that time. The team from HCC has taken Alyson's picture around to the local area Sam's Clubs and taken up donations for the cause.


*** 2-28-05 *** Updated photo of ALyson's tombstone posted.


**2-22-05**
I know I haven't updated the site in awhile, but I have not forgotten about the hundreds of people who visit this gallery daily. My first solo valentine's day was not very good. I wasn't expecting the emotions that i felt when I went to bring Alyson her flowers.... Alyson really liked flowers and I would buy her flowers all the time! Just because Al isn't here on earth, that doesn't mean that the flowers stop!!
Back to what i was saying! Everytime I visit Alyson I get teary eyed, but i try to be strong and not let my visit make the rest of my day a sad one. Well on valentine's day I went to visit her, and I felt very strong emotions.... I think I cried more that day than i did at the funeral. It was very sad. I usually don't cry the way I did but i could not control myself.
Now I didn't know if this was all the bottled up sadness that I had been holding back or just me at a weak moment but something was happening. I arranged her flowers, had a nice talk with her and just thought of all the great Valentine days together. I guess my way of dealing with her loss was catching up to me and the built up emotions came at me all at once. I always thought to myself.. even though people may look at us funny, i don't care! and if i had to push Al around in a wheelchair for the rest of my life i didnt care either. I just wanted us to be happy, and alyson pain free. But I believe god had the whole thing planned out from the begining and knew what he was doing. I also believe that god has a plan for me...... the hard part is finding out what that plan is! It is about 4am and Alyson got me out of bed (we still talk) to get me to write this update! So be safe everyone, god bless.
Luis


**1-8-05**
Alyson's memorial service was wonderful! LOTS of people came to celebrate her life, from doctors, to cancer survivors,lots of friends and family and even her dog Pepe!. Me and Alyson's Mother want to thank everyone for coming, and showing support. It meant a lot to us and I know Al would have loved to meet all her friends in one place!
I'm sure Alyson loved all the attention!

A photo of Alyson's Tombstone is posted below.
Luis~

**1-7-05** The St. Petersburg Times wrote a short article on Alyson that you can see
Here: https://pbase.com/thpproductions/alysonstories

**1-5-05**
Hello everyone, I hope the new year is treating everyone well!
I want to thank everyone for all the continued support! This gallery is the most popular gallery on Pbase! And if you type Alyson Degnan on "google" This gallery is number 1 !!
Alyson's memorial service will be held This Saturday 1-8-05 at 10am.
The Short Service will be held at:
Limona Village Chapel
408 Limona Road
Brandon, FL 33510



**12-29-04**
The kind people at the brandon News wrote a nice followup article on Alyson! To bad im not in the picture! but Alyson and her Mom look great together! You can view the article here! https://pbase.com/thpproductions/alysonstories

Keep the emails and the guestbook comments coming! I will be printing them out for the memorial service Jan-8th. Also any newly diagnosed cancer patients or family members feel free to contact me on Alyson's email account Alyson1124@yahoo.com and I will try to answer them as best as I could I know I'm not Alyson but I will try to help give some advice from my point of view.

Be Safe, Happy Holidays
Luis


**12-27-04**
People wishing to make donations Send them to:
Donations may be sent to:
The check should be made out to "Amandalee Weiss Sarcoma Fund #33613
Sarcoma Program
c/o Moffitt Cancer Center
12902 Magnolia Drive
Tampa, FL 33612


**12-25-04**
Merry Christmas to all. My first christmas without Alyson was not good, but I didnt want to spend the day crying.. Alyson told me not to. So I am just giving thanks to everything I do have left. I really miss her, and being alone (without my Fiance) is not easy but I manage.
I am also adding some scanned photos of me an alyson before cancer, they are not good quality but they are ok!
I would like to also pass along a message from Alyson's Mother. She wants to thank everyone for all the support. She wants to also express that as she does appreciate the Flowers, she is overwhelmed by them and asked to instead donate the money To Alyson's preffered charity, The Amanda Lee Weiss Foundation. Amanda is a woman the same age as Alyson that died of the same type of cancer. Amanda's Parents set up the foundation to help fund research for Osteo Sarcoma. I will get that information when I recieve it from Amanda's mother.
ALyson will be cremated and the memorial Service will be after the holidays. Jan 8 2005 at the Limona village Chappel in Brandon Florida. Anyone is welcomed to attend. I will get back with the exact times. Any question you can contact me at: Alyson1124@yahoo.com you can also send private messages to Alyson's parents and I will forward the emails to them.
I also want to share a Poem A friend wrote for alyson

To the Warrior By Eric Sanchez

It is not if we win or loose.
It is how we fight on.
You have fought with courage and honor.
You have endured pain and despair.
Yet you continued to fight on.
By example, you have lead, you have inspired,
you have carried on without releif, without strength.
But you have carried on, bravely, steadfastly.
Sickness cannot be proud with what it has stolen.
Death wears poorly on your home.
They cannot lay claim to any of your achievements.
We respect and praise you, Warrior!!
You have performed your duties with diligence.
You have fought well, for yourself and for us.
You have taught us so much about being strong
and how to conduct ourselves with our heads and dreams held high.
Now go and enjoy your leave. You earned it long ago.
Rest yourself now that your tour is complete.
Enjoy the peace that you now have at hand.
Thank you, Warrior !!!
Thank you Alyson !!!


**12-23-04**
Alyson Passed away very peacefully at home with her family at 4am today. I personally am relieved that Alyson will not be in pain and suffering anymore. It has been a hard long battle and she and I have acomplished many things. I have no regrets I just have great memories. She is in a better place now and god has a job for her.
Funeral information will be posted when known.
Luis


**12-20-04**
Alyson's condition has deteriorated this week. Yesterday they placed three catheters (spelling?) in her. One to control the pain in her neck (where the tumor is compressing the C1, C2 and C3 vertebrae) and one to control the pain in her abdomen where the tumor is compressing her kidneys and bladder (as well as the other organs), and the third is a Foley, so she doesn't have to get up to go to the bathroom. They have started radiation on her neck to see if they can relieve some of her pain there. They are stopping the radiation in her abdomen since the tumor is not responding and continues to grow. Alyson's pain is very very high. Hospice has been coming in and helping with the pain machines, etc.
**6pm UPDATE** The Hospice doctors and Nurses have determined that the pain control devices in place now are not controlling her pain and she is in lots of pain now. The doctors as well as the family have made the decision to end her pain and suffering by administering high doses of a medication that will allow her to sleep and feel no pain. The medication will not "kill" her but will allow her to sleep when god calls her. The entire Family had a chance to speak with her before the medication was administered. She could speak very little but she left us with very encouraging words that I will remember for my whole life. On one of our last conversations Alyson tells me that she is tired of fighting, her job on earth is done.... and God has another job for her that she is ready to take. She.... as always handled the situation very well.
One of her last wishes were to keep this site going and for me (Luis) to communicate with newly diagnosed patients. I will.
More photos, and Funeral information will be posted soon. Thanks to all.
Keeping strong.... (or trying to at least)
Charlene(Mom)& Luis(Fiance)





*12-15-04**

First of all I can't thank everyone enough for all of their support, prayers, and comments. Well, the tumor is growing extremely fast and giving me lots of pain. I am still undergoing radiation therapy and it is not expected to kill the tumor but only give me less pain. The doctors are giving me the option next week to continue or stop the radiation. Their are no current plans for chemo therapy or any other future treatment. I am now at home with my family under lots of pain medication to keep the pain of my growing tumor manageable.
**12-7-04**

Hi everyone, Hopefully Alyson will be up to responding to emails but she has been very sick lately. The Tumor in her pelvis is growing very fast and giving her lots of pain. The doctors are giving Alyson her first dose of radiation today. They dont expect the radiation to kill the tumor but they do expect the radiation to shrink it down a little, and relieve some pain. They are going to combine the radiation with Chemo therapy... Her type of cancer normally doesnt respond to radiation but it did respond to the ifosfamide chemo drug she had in the past. However that specific chemo drug gave her an alergic reaction and sent her to the ICU. The chemo did produce a 90% tumor kill so we know it does work.. So this time the doctors are going to give her drugs to counteract the side effects and hopefully kill the cancer! Keep Praying!


** 11-24-04 **
Well Alyson's 21st birthday did not go as planned! She Spent her 21st bday getting surgery to relieve pressure from a large tumor constricting her intestines. Alyson's surgery gave surgeons more time to try other methods of treatment. Todays surgery lasted about 2 hours and she recovered well. You're prayers are helping because the tumor is isolated to her pelvis and not spreading through her abominal cavity as doctors feared. Doctor Windham personally inspected her liver, and nearby organs for disease and found nothing.... lets just keep praying that nothing develops and we still have enough strength to kill the tumor! The doctors did not remove the tumor in her pelvis becuase they felt if they began cutting into the highly vascular tumor the bleeding would result in the cancer cells spreading throughout the body... and we dont want that. So the plan now is to do radiation, as well as more chemo to shrink the tumor, then go in and remove it once it is not as active. I attached 2 new photos of alyson minutes before entering her room from surgical recovery. The photos show how NOT to spend your 21st birthday.
until next time. Luis~

**11-23-04**
This is Luis reporting on bad news....Alysons Sarcoma Inhibitor is NOT woking. She went for her checkup and found that the tumor actually got larger, and is now inpacting her intestines. She will be having another major surgery this wed. the 24th... her birthday. This is going to be a very complicated surgery and hopefully the surgery will go well and we can keep alyson longer. We are very worried about this surgery because the during last tumor removal surgery she lost a lot of blood. This tumor is even larger than the previous pelvis tumor and high blood loss is expected. The tricky part is... if they take out to much tumor she will loose too much blood, and if they dont take enough tumor its just gonna grow faster. The doctors havent finalized the next plan of action Please pray for her and us.


**11-11-04**hi everyone! i'm sorry that i haven't updated this in a while. well, i am receiving the sarcoma inhibitor, an experimental drug that will hopefully cure me. there are high hopes for this drug, and would everyone please keep praying for all my tumors to get lost?!i have recovered from the last surgery pretty well, but they think another tumor is already growing in the last ones place . prayers are more than welcome, and please pray for my sterngth too, because i'm very worried. thank you to all who support me, even if i dont know you.



**9-28-04**
Well Alyson is out of the ICU and has been transferred to a regular room. She is doing very well, she is known for a fast recovery after major surgeries. I have posted two new photos of her.
Luis

**9-25-04**
Well for those loyal "fans" out there we continue to thank you for all of your support and prayer. But I think Alyson needs a little extra help. Alyson had to have her surgery to remove a grapefruit size tumor in the soft tissue around her pelvis 2 weeks early. The tumor gave her a lot of pain, so much that she couldnt walk. The size of the tumor effected her bladder and was difficult to remove. The 6 hour surgery is expected to take a longer healing time and the next few days are critical. During the surgery Alyson lost a lot of blood, so she recieved transplants and will be getting IV fluids to help her body catch up.
Alyson will also be kept sedated and on a venitlator for a couple of days to help her body recover. I havent talked to alyson yet since she is still sedated but when I do I will update more.

Thanks and keep praying!
Luis

9-10-04**** well, i've been a little sick to my tummy
for about two months, and now i know that my gi tract
has an infection..yuck! now i'm on some new meds that
will hopefully take care of it. i'm also getting
excited b/c i went to my appointment tp talk to my
prosthetic guy about getting a new leg. i hope that it
wont be too uncomfortable and it wont hurt too much.
its going to have to come up around part of my pelvis
and torso. thats not going to be fun. it could ALWAYS
be worse. for now my tumors in my lungs are stable,
but not going away either. my boyfriend and my dog
keep my spirits up and i thank every single person who
looks at this site and takes the time to realize what
is truely important in life.

**UPDATE**8-13-04**I had chemo today and i slept through most of it. now i;m home and hopefully everything will go smoothly.i a bit woozy and my hands are numb, but thats all.



**UPDATE**8-11-04** I have chemo tommorrow so wish me luck. I had a few problems since the last treatment but now im ready to go again... Not looking forward to it though! For all of you who have been emailing me and praying for me Thanks from the bottom of my heart. All those prayers and messages keep me going.
Alyson.

**UPDATE**8-2-04**well... i have like 3 tumors in my lungs now and i'm on this experimental chemo.ICK!!! anyway, all my hair is gone again and i'm sad b/c it was 2 inches long! double ICK! i'm still hot though! :) i have it again on wed. and i'm not looking foward to it but i'll be home the same day, so its not too bad. I NEED JESUS!!!!PRAY FOR ME!!


** UPDATE 6-26-04 ** I GOT A PUPPY!!! I got my little chihuahua puppy and he is the cutest puppy in the whole wide world!! His name is Pepe.
I have an appointment on Monday so pray for me!
Love Big Al!

** UPDATE 6-19-04 **
i'm home now and my littler leg hurts very bad. please pray that i'm heaaled and cancer free. my surgeon is really good so it doesn't look bad, just gone... i'll update more later.

P.S SPECIAL Thanks to Bill's Prescriptions (Brandon Brace) In Brandon They are great people, and are one of the few area businesses that actually care about their customers. The owners heard about me, and saw my website and contacted me to ask if I needed anything. They gave me an AWESOme wheelchair that is very light weight and it even matches my cellphone! They are also helping me with my mountains of prescriptions. Thanks!!

peace
love,
big al

**UPDATE 6-12-04 **
The surgery went well. But they had to remove more than they wanted too. Doctors removed whatever was left of my femur and my lymph nodes. As of now she is verry "loopy" on pain medications but feels "relieved" that the cancer is out of her body ..... for now at least. Since the chemo isnt killing the cancer a new drug called the Sarcoma inhibitor is going to be used. It will be used as soon as she recovers from the surgery. The Inhibitor has'nt been tested on humans yet but in the labratory it killed all the sarcoma tumors... Will this be the drug that cures Alyson?? Tune in next time same bat time..... same bat channel...
Luis-

*** UPDATe 6-9-04 ***
Well today we just recieved very BAD news... After recieving one round of chemo and after being rediagnosed for the 4th time her leg got really swollen.
Alyson complained of lots of pain and swelling in her backwards leg, and the next wednesday 1 week after the chemo she went back to the hospital to see what was goin on. Doctors quickly admitted her and performed many tests to see what was creating the swelling..... They found what they didn't want to find..... the tumor grew 5x as big in 1 week! Dr. Letson as well as the rest of her surgical and oncology team made the decision to amputate. They must remove the entire femur to save her life. As you can imagine She is almost more upset now than after being diagnosed in the with cancer the first time, but she knows that it must be done in order to save her life.
The Surgery is Scheduled for 8am at The Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.
So please put her in your prayers and hope for the best!
P.S.
If you email her I will take all her emails to her hospital room and she will repond to all emails as soon as she is able to. As soon as I can get enough money I plan to buy her a laptop so she can respond to emails and write to other cancer patients in her room during her long stay.

** UPDATE*** Well the doctors found more cancer in my leg so they are now trying to figure out a game plan as to what is gonna happen next. Since the traditional chemo for this cancer isnt working there is a experimental procedure at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota that I may have to try. Keep checking back on the site for more updates, my boyfriend will be updating it if I cannot... Ps. Thanks for all the Emails and prayers

Love
Alyson!

My name is Alyson Degnan, a 20 year old osteosarcoma patient. I live in Tampa Florida and I have been treated at Moffitt Cancer Center for most of my treatment. In December 2002, I was in college, and working a part time job when I was walking and suddenly my femur snapped. After being sent to three different hospitals, I learned that I had a pathologic fracture, and the tumor was an aggressive form of childhood bone cancer. I was placed in a brace from my toes to my hip, and underwent aggressive chemotherapy as well.
The chemo was one of the hardest things I had to deal with throughout the whole ordeal, because it made me so sick and caused lesions from the roof of my mouth all the way into my GI tract. This made it very difficult to eat, and I was fed intravenously for about 2 weeks. I later learned that I was allergic to the chemo when I ended up in ICU because my blood pressure was dangerously high. I was put on a milder form of chemo that still gave me sores, but didn’t make me as sick.
I was placed at a children’s hospital and during that time the back of my thigh was in pain and I was told it was a heat rash, but later, when my leg was removed from the brace, there was a severe aspergillis fungal infection on my thigh and calf. This is basically a flesh-eating infection, and it ate about ¼ to ½ an inch into my flesh. This eventually delayed future chemo treatments and a limb-salvaging surgery to save my leg. The infection left a gaping wound that had to have the dressing changed 1-3 times daily (while my leg was still broken), and lasted for 8 months.
After 6 months, my limb-salvage surgery was finally scheduled, which is basically a knee and femur replacement where the contaminated bone and muscle was to be removed. A week before, my gall bladder was found to have stones in it, and had to be removed immediately. It was taken out, and two weeks later, the BIG surgery day arrived. An extra muscle had to be taken out, 3 out of the 4 quadracep muscles were removed. The 8 hour surgery was slightly more complicated than my doctors thought but all in all it went well
My doctor told me I needed more chemo, but only two more rounds. By the time my last chemo came around, I was up and walking again. However, a few weeks later, my doctor told me I needed more chemo again. I had my last session and was excited about the fact that it was over… or so I thought. ..... Dramatic music.........
A few weeks after the last chemo, I fell and broke the lower part of my leg (Fibula and ankle) in 3 places. I was again in a cast up to my thigh. A few months after that, the cast was off and I discovered a lump in the previous tumor site. I thought, "oh my god!, not again" I was pretty sure that i knew that my arch enemy cancer, was back for another round but I didnt want to believe it. Me and my boyfriend thought... Hey I have bone cancer right... and there is no bone there, only metal so it can't be cancer... I went to see my doctor, Dr. Cutey just kidding Dr Letson and he did an exam on me and was surprised to learn that I had a local reoccurence. Since he never had one in his 14 years of being a surgeon it worried him. I was immediatley scheduled for a biopsy, it confirmed that the cancer was back, and my leg had to be amputated. My doctor told me that I was a candidate for a tibia turnplasty. This is a weird surgery, so I won’t explain it, but the pic of it is here: https://pbase.com/image/26133408. Basically they would of had to cut so much bone that there probably would not have been enough for a traditional above the kneee prostetic leg. So what they did was use my tib-fib and attached foot and attached to what was left of the femur and now my backwards leg acts as my knee... weird huh! that is what I thought.
Then I met one of my new Clopinel aka James! He is great guy and really helped me understand how life was going to be living backwards.... hehehe just kidding he had the surgery done 14 years ago at the age of 12. Clopinel was one of the very few people that had the surgery done in the early 90's . I was one of only 3 other people that clopinel has ever met with the surgery, but the only girl. My Other friend Dan was the other one, he had a similar cancer and the same type of surgery. Dan was actually the first person I met with the backwards leg syndrome (as I call it)
Clopinel showed me that having this surgery doesnt stop you from anything. A perfect example of this was the rumors I heard about him. I was told that he is an amputee mountain climber.. I was like yeah right! no way! but it was true he had to have many replacement legs because of his abuse!

The surgery was to be another tricky procedure so just to make sure the tumor wasn't growing anymore, I had to have more chemo. Going into the surgery it wasn't guaranteed that I would even be able to get the surgery. They had to actually go in and evaluate the leg, blood vessels and nerves to make sure they were not contaminated with the cancer. If the cancer spread to much I would have to loose the entire leg. When I woke up from the surgery the first thing I wanted to do was make sure they were able to perform the turnplasty the leg, and to much of my relief they were! I was relieved but worried, Dr. Letson explained to me and my family that the first 48hr were very important and I would have to be in ICU. The blood vessels and nerves had to be healed correctly and blood clots had to be kept under control. Luckily for me all went well.

The way my leg looks was so awkward and it felt backward and I had to get used to the way it needs to be moved. A couple of months after that, a lesion was found on my left lung. It was mostly a dead tumor, but it had to be removed. That surgery went smoothly, and now I’ve gotten my prosthetic leg, and am learning how to use it. Everyone’s thoughts and prayers are appreciated.
If anyone would like to contribute or volunteer to the prevention and research of cancer, donations can be made to the Sarcoma Foundation at Moffitt Cancer Center at (813)972-4673.



If you would like to email me please do so at: Alyson1124@yahoo.com

Images on any and all galleries are copyrighted and cannot be used without expressed consent of the photographer. Luis Santana