m a r in Ge ne r a L H o spiTaL fpresents o unda T io n FILE NAME MGHF_logo_horz_color_FA2011.ai DIE/TEMP NA [email protected] SOFTWARE Adobe Illustrator CS3 UPC CODE NA Final Art LINKS NA FONTS T 925.299.1540 F 925.299.1546 Johnny’s Story When Johnny Kniesche arrived home from winter break 2004 complaining of feeling sore and tired, Skip and Nancy Kniesche thought their 19 year old athletic son had probably banged himself up playing basketball with his buddies. Still, they took him to see Dr. Ray Bonneau, a Marin orthopedic specialist and family friend. Dr. Bonneau ordered a diagnostic scan and promised to call with the results. The phone rang on December 26th. Dr. Bonneau said, “We think he has non-hodgkins lymphoma.” The aggressive blood cancer had spread throughout his bones. “Take Johnny to Jennifer Lucas at Marin Cancer Institute,” Dr. Bonneau told them. “It’s one of the best cancer centers in the country.” From the moment they met Dr. Lucas, the Kniesches felt reassured, says Nancy. “She bonded with Johnny over basketball, and every time we visited it felt like family.” Grueling chemo treatments beat back the lymphoma and eventually, Johnny was able to go back to school at Michigan. But after two years, he relapsed. He was transferred to UCSF to undergo a bone marrow transplant. “Even though we were no longer on the books of Marin Cancer Institute it felt like we never left,” Nancy says. “Dr. Lucas always stayed in touch with his UCSF doctors. If Johnny needed something she arranged for him to have it in Marin. At Michigan, she helped find good doctors to support him. And if the family had questions or concerns, she was there for us.” But Johnny relapsed again, so fragile that he dropped out of school. Then the leukemia roared back with a vengeance. Doctors told the family to prepare for the worst. Nancy took leave from work to devote the next six months to taking Johnny wherever he wanted to go. Johnny’s brothers, Ted and Mark, and their wives, Kali and Julia, began to spend as much time as possible with him; the family became closer than ever. “I’ve never met someone with more courage than Johnny, and the ability to stay upbeat in the face of adversity,” says Dr. Lucas. Extraordinary tented venue in downtown Sausalito A miracle arrived in the form of a cancer drug, asparigenase, prescribed in a last ditch effort to turn the tide. At first, it made him feel even worse—if that were possible—with months of nausea, weight loss, numbness and other side effects. “We just kept moving,” says Nancy, “and then he got better, to everyone’s amazement. He started getting stronger and looking ahead.” benefiting marin cancer insTiTuTe aT marin GeneraL HospiTaL Nancy and Skip Kniesche, Chairs After completing his final semester at Michigan long distance, the whole family accompanied him to graduation; Obama delivered the address. He settled on UCLA for graduate school. He finished his first semester, and came home with a very bad cold or pneumonia, depleted physically and emotionally. Nancy drove back to UCLA with him after the break, to help him get back on his feet. After arriving, he told her he had lost confidence; he just didn’t think he could stay. “He’d been through too much to quit now,” Nancy says. She suggested he call Dr. Lucas for advice. “I knew Jen would have a plan—Jen always had a plan.” Event information: 415.925.7770 or www.maringeneral.org/events sponsors* Reta Haynes Mike and Sharon Stone Dr. Lucas answered with the sounds of her small children in the background. She instantly understood how important this call must be and listened as Johnny told her he was ready to give up on UCLA. “I want to come home,” he said. “What will you do if you go home?” Dr. Lucas asked. “You need a plan. Let’s just get you through the next month there, and then let’s talk again.” “We owe so much to the Cancer Center and Dr. Lucas,” says Nancy. “They were always by our side, through thick and thin. Before this happened, we had no clue how incredibly lucky we are to have this world class center right here in Marin. We will always be grateful for the extraordinary care and caring we received.” Note: Skip and Nancy Kniesche are co-chairing the Marin General Hospital Foundation gala, Bombay Dreamy, to be held on Saturday, May 16, 2015, benefiting Marin Cancer Institute (MCI). For more information or to register go to maringeneral.org/events The Kniesche Family Barbara McCullough Chris and Bob Feibusch Dennis and Susan Gilardi Bob and Connie Peirce Carolie (Kiki) Pescatello Nancy and Richard Robbins Stephanie and Mark Robinson Sue and Michael Schwartz The Schultz Foundation Anonymous Sharon Early - in memory of John Early and H.J. (Bill) Haynes Frank M. Ewing Foundation, Inc. Herbst Foundation Kentfield Hospital Betsy and Ed McDermott Honey and Jed Nachman Darice and Jeffrey O’Neill Joe and Heidi Shekou John and Pamela Larson Sally Buehler John and Pat Cahill Janell and Joe Ciatti Joanne Dunn Corinne Hedrick and Jim Bruner Jeff and Phyllis Koblick KC and Steve Lauck Marin Gastroenterology Derek and Nancy Parker Maria Pitcairn Tucky and John Pogue Henry Timnick Cathie and Chris Warner Douglas and Nancy Wolcott Polly and Ward Wolff Joe and Pat Abrams Lydia and Tony Cameron Jeri Dexter Marianne and Albert Figen Foundation Gerlach, Kaufman & Otter Families Hospice by the Bay Jon and Hope Kragh Tom and Marie Lyons Marin Sanitary Service Moresco Distributing Company Mt. Tam Orthopedics & Spine Center Kathryn Niggeman David and Marcia Sperling Brian & June Strunk Young’s Market Company Dennis Whipp The Honorable Roy Wonder & Barbara Ward Wonder Fran Zone Something just clicked. “Jen was like a sister to Johnny,” Nancy says. “That call turned him around.” He gritted his teeth, earned his Masters and met Kelsey, the woman he married last year in a joyous ceremony attended, of course, by Dr. Lucas. Doctors recently delivered good news; his platelets are in the normal range for the first time since his diagnosis. “His immune system is ready to fight again,” says Nancy. “He’ll always carry some scars from this, but we are all focused on the future now.” *As of February 26, 2015 DIAGEO jeweLry sponsor 100% sTand-By amBuLance August 15, 2011 SCALE BeveraGe sponsors DATE Marin General Hospital Foundation Identity piLa Marin General Hospital Foundation PROJECT media sponsors CLIENT saTurday, may 16, 2015 naranGi PANTONE 584 U Hara 3176 Camino Colorados, Lafayette, California 94549 PANTONE 7505 U niLa PANTONE 584 C BainGani PHOTO BY KATHLEEN HENNESSY PANTONE 7531 C a BLacK-T ie GaLa TaBLe HosTs UNCOATED PANTONE COLORS COATED PANTONE COLORS BenefacTor receopTion sponsor Note: Use white outline to provide contrast from background if needed. Bombay Dreamy Long-time Giants fans, they didn’t miss a game when the team made the playoffs and then the World Series in Texas. Even desperately ill, Johnny and his parents sat in the stands and cheered the team on to its 2010 championship. “No matter how bad he felt, he always managed to make others feel okay,” says Skip. The whole family attended the Masters, another item on Johnny’s wish list. And they learned to let go; he flew alone to visit friends in Michigan where a physician met him on a Sunday morning for a transfusion.
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