We got home yesterday.We left gymnastics camp with Courtney and went to Pigeon Forge.We had a good time at camp, Tammy and I just hung around,ran some errands and took it easy.Those of you who know something about gymnastics can appreciate the current and former gymnastics that was there.... Courtney Kupets 2004 Olympic silver medialists...Kip Simons1996 Olympian ...2004 olympic Silver medialist Jason Gatson and Brett McClure.... many current college gymnasts and of course camp directors 1996 Olympian John Macready and 3 time Olympian John Roethisberger. John and John are such great people. They have visited Kassidys and Courtneys gymnastics club, Virginia Techniques in Christiansburg also. They came to do motivitional speeches and trained all the team there also. They started a scholorship in rememberence of Kassidy at there gym in Crossville TN. It is called The Kassidy Foster Memorial Scholorship, you can read about it at there web site at Flipfest.com. We took pictures that is on there web page with the olymnpians.We have been told that Kassidy is gone but not forgotten...as long as Flipfest camp is open ,that scholorship will be given to a young gymnasts every year. Courtney (Kassidys sister) won it this year.Kassidy has touched many peoples lives and it will continue.

We spent some time in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg , every store we went into brought back so much memories of Kassidy because the last 3 years that is what we did after camp,shop, ride go-carts, play mini golf, just walked the streets in Gatlinburg and we had to get the air brushed shirts for the girls also ,everything we did this year we done the last 3 years, oh the memories.

Before we came home ,Tammy, Courtney and I stopped by the cemetery, we had not been there since the funeral, we knew Kass was gone but when you get home and she really IS NOT there that is when you know she is in heaven with Jesus.As we where reading the large amount of cards from the week, Tammy said that it will humble you, the words of encouragement from you guys will humble you. (and made us cry even more) but it is all good.

We realized God had a plan for Kassidy before her life began, he knew she would be on this earth for 12 years and during this time tell her about God , he had to find a family that would fullful his plan for her,he needed a family that would stay strong, believe and trust in his son Jesus and I am thankful that we had that opportunity to fullfill his plan. We still have alot of work for him and we are committed to continue Kassidys fight.... but in a different way.Kassidy past that Monday morning at 8:35,  we were at her beside . At 837 I told everyone that right then 2 minutes later....Jesus had Kassidy by the hand and he was leading her before God , Jesus said "Father this one is with me......God said"Kassidy I am proud of you,you fullfilled my plan for me" ....Then Jesus took her into heavens gates.  I know this happened I am so thankful and I believe with all my heart that she is in heaven because of our families faithfulness and love for Jesus. I will continue to fight the new fight for Kassidy and one day I will see her again and this time it will be me standing before God with Jesus.Then I will see my Kassidy again. Thanks for your prayers,cards and for your love for Jesus I will update soon.

Danny Tammy Courtney and our Champion "Kassidy"

We had another great day. We started out going to the funeral with Tammy's mom and dad to see Kass.  It went pretty good.  Then those who visited got to saw the pictures we had to set up. We want to thank Becky Sallie for her hard work on the pictures.I also want to thank her so much for the development and for managing of kassidyspage.com.  After we set the pictures up, we came back home and my family came.  We had lunch, then arrived at the funeral home.  My family, including my father ,(mom is in heaven) was able to to see Kass.  At the memorial service I got to see alot of my past friends and of course our church family,  but in Floyd Tammy got to visit with alot of her family and friends she had not seen since high school and of course the kids from school. We got to meet not only kids from Check Elementary and all the other schools, but also we had some high school students too.  Kassidy's age was different from Chance and Joshua.   God used Kassidy's fight to reach not only elementary students or high school, but also college students. We have seen ourselves and have been told stories from people who go to work or to school and realize their problems were not that bad. They thought about Kassidy and this disease she had and knowing what she was going thru was nothing compared to thier problems. We knew from the beginning that ever one goes thru a life changing experience and I want to thank GOD for being with my family and this county during the last 7 months.

    Today is a day everyone will face, the burial of a loved one.  I know this will be difficult for us because if you told me in Janurary we would be doing this to our Kassidy we would not have believed you.  She will be gone, but not forgotten.  She not only changed you in some way, but she changed me.  Yes, she changed me alot, she taught me how to love unconditionally and to forgive those who had a negative impact on my life in my past. We were able to tell Kassidy how much we loved her in the last 4 months. I want every person reading this to take your last 30 seconds with your loved ones and tell them you love them in that 30 seconds the way we did with Kassidy over our 4 months with her. Once you loose that time you can't get it back.......We love you guys!

Danny Tammy Courtney and our Champion "Kassidy"

Wow what a day.  It is 11:10 pm and we just got home. We started off this morning and went to the funeral home to see Kassidy.  It was very emotional, but knowing she is in heaven with our Lord took the pain away.  I forgot to mention on my previous updates that we were able to donate Kassidy's corneas.  Their is a waiting list of 933 people in the state of VA that is waiting for that transplant, please pray that who ever receives her eyes that their body accepts them.  We should know in about 60 days.  After that we went to my dads house to have lunch and get ready for the memorial service. We started receiving friends at 5:00 and at 7:00 when pastor started the service people there were people waiting to see us. The service was very good and at the end pastor gave an altar call and around 30 people got saved.  Praise God!  We knew that Kass had a impact on peoples lives and we saw it tonight.  To the people that we got to talk to ....thanks for coming, thanks for your words of encouragement and prayers.  To the people that we did not get to speak to thank you for visiting and we are sorry we did not get to meet you.  We love you.  Pastor Josh said he thought there was about  700  people that showed up and 500 stayed for the service. That was truly amazing.  You guys showed up to see a 12 year old who lived her life for Jesus; you guys are awesome. Tomorrow we are going to go to the funeral home, get the pictures setup and take Tammy's mom and dad to see Kass. We hope to see you guys tomorrow night in Floyd at the funeral home.  Remember we love you guys and thanks for your prayers and cards.  Our Champion, Kassidy, would really be proud of this community. We love you!!!!!

Danny Tammy Courtney and our Champion "Kassidy"

Yesterday was a busy day.  I have often wondered why people wait until the last minute to make arrangements for their lost loved ones ...but now I know.  We 1st went to the funeral home to make the arrangements for Kassidy.  We were choosing the casket for Kassidy and we had decided on 2, so we chose the least expensive one.  Tammy spoke up and said "Kassidy is looking down at us from heaven and saying....mom and dad you know I am high maintance (daddy calls her plastic), you had better not put me in that cheap casket"....so of course we choose the expensive one, (and of course it is pink.)  So we laughed about it. Tammy said people probably think we are crazy being happy right now when we are out making these tough decisions, but when you have the joy of the Lord in your heart, trust and love him as much as we do and knowing he had us by the hand (and alot of times carrying us) thru this battle with Kass, knowing she is in heaven with him; you can't help but to make a joyful noise with the inner peace he has giving us.  Then we headed to Franklin County (my hometown) to the flower shop (Flowers by Jones) to choose the flowers (yes they were pink). Then we went to Faith Fellowship Church to meet with our Pastor(Gary Hoffman) to make the arrangements with him and Pastor Josh about the music. After that we went to Blasksburg to the gymnastics club to speak to some of the parents there,and of course Courtney ended up spending the night with Katie Salie (one of Kassidy's best friends).  So Tammy and I  left and went home for the 1st time in many, many, many months without the 2 kids. We finally got to talk about Kassidy's passing on the way home and we cried so much.  I had to get up this morning and run alot of errands.  Tammy stayed  here and her best friend from high school spent the day with her. We have the arrangements set up so any one came come visit us.  We do not have any private services because it is very important for us to meet as many people who prayed for Kassidy.  I know she touched many people her age and the parents that have kids her age, so come say hi.  Tomorrow morning will be difficult because we go to the funeral home to see her, then we are going to go to Rocky Mount to my dads house and then leave for Faith Fellowship for the service there.  Again come visit say hi.  We love you guys and thanks for your prayers support and remember we are family and like Kassidy did.................Keep Believing!   Kassidy is our Champion!!!

Love Danny Tammy Courtney and our Champion  "Kassidy"

Hello everyone, this is Kassidy's father.  This is this first time that I have posted anything about Kassidy's fight.  As many of you know, we have been in this battle for many months.  We have basically stopped our life to be with Kassidy.  We have not worked in months.  When Kassidy was first diagnosed we made the decision to stay with her every minute we could; the doctors told us that the survival rate with bone cancer were very slim. After Kassidy received several treatments, she had her amputation and also more spots appeared on ct scans throughout her body; we knew then that time was limited.  This made it very tough for us because of her age in that she knew when things were wrong and we think maybe she kept it from us because she did not want us to worry.  We took advange of that time by going out with her when she was able to go.  I cannot tell you how many times she would tell us she was sorry that we had to miss work just to stay with her, she hardly ever thought about herself.  One night in June we were at home, we all held hands and Kassidy led our prayers that night.  She prayed for the other kids she knew were sick, but she did not pray for herself.  She was always thinking about others.  Going to California was something she wanted to do.  I was very scared to take her that far away from home, but she was determined to go. I prayed and asked GOD to get us to California and back and when we got back to VA he could do what he had to do.  That is exactly what happened. Kassidy got her wish, she pushed herself so hard to do her trip.  She was hurting the whole time and she never once admitted it.  The last several months I knew Kassidy was not improving.  She told us she wanted to know everything when she asked if she was getting better we had to tell her no that the chemo was not working  We talked to her about doing experimental drugs.  She told me not to worry, it was not going to come to that; she knew she was going to get to go to heaven.  We never thought it would end this quickly, but when I saw the xrays Friday I knew it was over.  Kassidy did not ask this time because she knew her body was not right.  We took her to the 10th floor knowing it was almost over, broken hearted, numb, sick, scared speechless, any feeling you could have knowing your child was goning to die and nothing could be done. BUT we know who Jesus is...  Kassidy's whole life was for him.  She was my prayer warrior...  Oh to sit here and remember how she prayed makes me cry.  She fought very hard before she passed. 

It is almost midnight we are home without Kass.  We will decide tomorrow about the arrangements.  We want to meet you guys and get to see the people whose life Kassidy touched.  We will make this a celebration for Kassidy.  I know this is long, but Kassidy is in heaven right know.  I thank GOD that he allowed me to be the father of the most beautiful girl I know.  Thanks to everyone who signed her page, for the prayers and cards.  We hope to see you at one of the services.   We are all family!!! 

Remember to slow down....love your loved ones unconditionally...enjoy life, live for Jesus .... Things can change in an instant...I know...it happened to my family. We will update soon.

Kassidy Jordan Foster
"Our Champion"

Born December 10, 1994
Healed July 16, 2007
Age 12

Parents
Danny & Tammy Foster

Sister
Courtney Foster

Kassidy has received her four gold gymnastic metals and is performing in heaven!  On Monday morning around 08:35am, Kassidy slipped peacefully onto heaven.  She's with God now.  The family held hands and prayed this morning after her passing and they are celebrating her healing.

Prelimary plans are to hold a memorial service at Faith Fellowship Church in Wirt, VA (Franklin County) and visitation at Gardner's Funeral home in Floyd.  Funeral will be held at Gardner's, internment will be held at Wilson Cemetery in Check.  Dates and details to follow.

Kassidy has shown what a fighter she can be.  She is still hanging on and fighting.  She is getting pain medicine that helps her breath better but lets her rest also.  If we let her wake up she gasps and struggles because she cannot get enough air in her lungs.  We have told her that it is OK to go and be with Jesus and oh, how many times we have told her we love her and will see her again in heaven.  It just breaks our hearts to have to sit and wait for Kassidy to decide when it will be time to go "Home".  We know she will be in a better place, free of sickness and pain, and being a beautiful angel ! So, we just sit and wait for the right time to come, for only God knows when that is. Continue to pray for peace, for Kassidy to have no fear about dying, and strength for all of us during this time.

Dear Lord, please give me strength while writing this.  Yesterday we came back to the clinic for OP chemo.  Kassidy had been complaining that she wzs having difficulty breathing.  We were giving her oxygen just to keep her comfortatble.  They did a chest xray and the right lung has totally been taken over by disease and her left lung is filling up also.  She talked to us for a little while yesterday and then went to sleep.  They are giving her pain medicine every two hours for pain and to help her breathing.  We layed in the bed with her last night and read her a book about Heaven.  She had told us she was scared to die because she didn't know what Heaven was like.  This book gave scripture and told her how wonderful Heaven will be.  We told her it was OK to go with Jesus.  That she could close her eyes and when she wakes up she will be able to run to God.  That she will be totally healed and will run to God on both legs.  I'm so glad we got to go to California and she enjoyed herself so much!!  It was like she knew and used all her strength she had left for the trip and when we got back home she let go.  She knew something wasn't right but was so brave and strong.  She has been an inspiration to us all! Right now we are just saying our goodbyes and letting her know that Joshua and Chance will be waiting for her to show her around, and Grandma Ruby and all our other relatives that are in Heaven will be there to meet her.  Dear Lord, this is the hardest thing a parent can go through.  Please pray for peace for Kassidy.  Please pray for strength for our family.  Right now we are just waiting for her to go "home".  It's hard just waiting for her to take her last breath.  Dear Lord.....we give her to you...please take good care of her.  

We had an excellent day today!!  Kassidy said it was the best day of her life.  We were met at the mall entrance today with a red carpet with people lined up on both sides and balloons all the way down to the door.  This brought tears to our eyes! The Make-A-Wish rep,Karla, met us and some other staff from the mall (Sofie).  Also, Sandy, one of the owners of the mall met us as well.  She presented us with a gift bag and was super nice.  From there we were taken to Ambercrombie at 9am.  Kassidy got to shop in the store a whole hour before the mall even opened.  The sales people there were great and they really got into helping Kassidy pick out outfits!!  She spent most of her money in this store. Then we headed to M.A.C for her makeover.  Her make-up was beautiful!  Then we headed to her favorite store, Limited Too.  We spent the rest of her alotted money there.  For such a short time she definitely made a whirlwind of shopping!!!  From there we went to lunch at the Quattro Cafe.  Kassidy had actually gotten hungry (Thank God!) and we had got her and Courtney some Chicken Nuggets from McDonalds.  So here we sit in this fancy little restaurant and they are eating from McDonalds!HEHE! The CEO of the California Make-A-Wish foundation came and met us at lunch!  His name was Mike and he was such a great guy! The chef there prepared Kassidy a special cake and it was delicious!!  After lunch we went to Tiffany's to try on jewelry.  We got to go into the private room (with a guard outside the door) and Kassidy tried on jewelry that was worth more than our house!  The last ring she tried on was a rare pink diamond and was worth $998,000...almost a million dollars! WOW!  We took lots of pictures and thats the only way we wll see those rings again! We had several hours so we had some other stores that had gift bags for Kassidy, including Nike, Colors of Benneton, and Dounney Bourke (hope that's spelled right).  This was so nice of everyone.  At 4:30p we had our last appt at a salon or Kassidy and Courtney to have a manicure.  They loved this.  It was almost 6pm and Kassidy was still going!  She had done so good, stayed awake except for a short nap at noon, and she enjoyed every minute.  I asked her when we were leaving if this had been a good day and she said it was the best day of her life!  And  said with that million dollar smile.  No matter what, this day and seeing her so happy has been priceless!  We are almost all in bed now.  We have a very, very early morning when the limo picks us up out front at 5am to go to the airport.  Our flight leaves at 7:25am.  So I better head to bed myself.  I just want to say that this trip has been wonderful.  The hotel, The Westin at South Coast PLaza, was great.  The staff was incredible, with special thanks to John (Valet) and Daniel.  All of the staff were wonderful!!  The mall staff was incredible and also the Make-A-Wish staff!!  We could not have asked to be treated any better.  Kasidy has definitely been treated like a movie star!! Well, better get to sleep. We praise God that he gave us such a good day for some wonderful memories!! 

Today has not been such a bad day.  This morning we woke up and got ready and went out driving.  We drove up to Huntington Beach and went out on the pier.  We watched the lifeguards/jr. lifeguards doing some training,some beach volleyball, kite fying and the SURFING! Kassidy got tired very quickly so we got back in the van and drove down the Pacific Coast Highway and just enjoyed the drive.  Then Kassidy wanted to come back to the hotel and lay down.  Her leg is still hurting where we think she pulled her muscle so we went back to the hotel.  Me, Connie and Courtney went over to the mall and checked out the stores to see where we thought Kassidy would enjoy shopping.  We came back in time to take pictures of Kassidy having her "spa facial".  This was arranged with the spa next door and they came to the room to do it.  That was great and Kassidy enjoyed it.  They left alot of products for Kassidy to use and we can do more facials on our own later!! Danny and Courtney went to the pool and went swimming for a little while.  We got out and went to a few stores this afternoon and picked up some fruit for Kassidy to eat.  She still is not eating real well, but at last starting to and trying hard....she's just nauseated...not throwing up but just doesn't want food....but she has to eat to keep up her strength....so she is trying.  Tonight we have just relaxed around the room and are ready to go to bed.  Tomorrow is Kassidy's big day to go shopping.  We are getting room service with breakfast in bed in the  morning and then the limo is going to be here at 8:30a to take us to the mall.  She gets a red carpet entrance to the mall before it opens and gets to shop at Ambercrombie for 1 hour before it opens to the public.  Then she is suppose to go have a makeover at M.A.C. She has several other surprises for the rest of the day but I don't want to ruin it for the update tomorrow.  So I will leave it a surprise for you all as well!  Off to bed now, early morning and busy day...will update late tomorrow.  Please continue to pray that Kassidy's leg will feel better and the pain will go away.  Also that she continues to try to eat a little more each day. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers.  God Bless You!

We have made it to California!!  It was such a long day for everyone!  We drove to Richmond last night and got up this morning to be at the airport by 6am.  Our flight left at 7:15a and we had one layover at Charlottte.  When we got off the plane at Charlotte Kassidy did something to her rt hip and it has been very painful ever since.  When we boarded the flight to Los Angeles she asked for medicine to help her relax and sleep for the flight.  So, I think because she hasn't been eating it affects her much more than usual.  She has been asleep ever since.  She wakes up and is in pain so we are just taking it easy tonight and letting her (and everyone else) relax.  I hope she will feel better tomorrow and be more awake and alert.  She doesn't go on her shopping trip until Wed  and she should feel a little better by then (hopefully, please pray that she wll feel better and can enjoy herself).  Well, we are going to try to find something to eat and then we are just chillin' for the rest of the night.  Tomorrow is a free day for us and we have not decided what we want to do....Sea World, pool, ????  California is definitely nothing like home!!!  We may drive down to the beach tomorrow and watch the surfers, that's something we can't see in Virginia!! Danny is upset that we came all the way to CA, our room is on the 10th floor with a beautiful view of the park but across the street is the mall and we are looking at SEARS!!  Danny says he came all this way to look at Sears!!!  Well, better go and find something to eat since we haven't eaten since around 8:30a and the clock says 3:45p but our bodies tell us it is almost 7p so we have missed lunch and are now getting a late dinner.  SO, the natives are restless and wanting food so we better go....we will update again tomorrow!

We are waiting till tomorrow to see if we are going to be going to California.  The last three days have been challenging.  Kassidy has not eaten and has slept most of the time.  She is talking very little and at times not responsive.  We are hoping this is from some of the medication we are giving her.  She has not received anything since about 1pm and she is still sleeping.  The good thing is that she does not seem to be in pain.  That is a blessing.  We are not sure she is taking a turn for the worse but we know we may not have much time.  So, we will wait and see what the morning holds......please continue to pray for our entire family. 

Well, we returned to the hospital last night because Kassidy had a slight fever and she cried that she did not feel right.  She knows her body and and she knows when something is not right so we were admitted to PICU and then transferred to the floor late last night.  She did receive 2 units of blood and we were discharged this afternoon.  She even wanted to go to the mall before we came home.  Then we went and bought fireworks for tonight.  Kassidy's Grandma and PaPa, Aunt Cathy,Uncle Paul, Sarah and Nichole and her friend Nikki all came to the house and we set off our "fireworks".  They all had light up necklaces and bracelets on that the Rahmes family had given Kassidy as a present.  Kassidy and all the others loved them lighting up in the dark!! This was a good 4th of  July!  Kassidy also received the gift that the Lynchburg Academy team and coaches had made.  It is oragami paper cranes...1,000 of them.  Each containing a special get well message.  This is a Japanese tradition to help cure sickness.  They are all connected together and have a ring so they can be hung up.  We came home and hung it over her bed.  She loved it and went to the nurses station at the hospital just so she could show all the nurses and tell the story about it and who made it for her.  Thanks so much to Sasha and Lynchburg Academy!!  Kassidy is already asleep tonight and resting peacefully.  Tomorow we will try to start getting all our stuff together for out trip....she is so excited!! While she is asleep we better get some sleep also.  Thanks again to everyone for all the cards she received this past week....it is amazing how many cards she is still getting.  Please continue to pray that her counts improve and she is ready to go to California!! We praise God for letting us have this time together! 

Can you believe it?  We are still at home!!!   Kassidy had lab work today.  Her white blood count and platelets are down but her hemoglobin and AGC look great!  We are just being cautious to make sure she doesn't catch anything to get an infection.  She had a pretty good day yesterday and was doing good today until we got back from Roanoke.  She has been asleep since we got home and complains that she doesn't feel well.  We are hoping to hold off fevers and then we go back on Thurs for more labs.  Hopefully then if her counts are still low we can get some platelets and blood to boost her up for her Make-A-Wish trip.  They called today and we are going to go to Richmond on Sun to spend the night and catch a flight leaving on Monday morrning!!  Kassidy is so excited!!  We are going to be shopping at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.  We are going to be staying in Orange County California.  That's all we know right now....we just hope Kassidy can continue to feel well so that we can have a good time!  We know there's a chance she can still end up in the hospital this week but hopefully she would only have to stay a few days to get fluids,blood and platelets....again we live minute by minute and just wait to see what happens.  Kassidy was concerned about when her next Chemo would be because her knee is hurting....she does have tumors there but somdays it is swollen and some days not.....We will have the next chemo treatment when we get back from California so that won't be that long off.  Please pray that everything will go OK the next few days and we can continue on our trip as planned..and Kassidy feels good and has the time of her life!!

Hello everyone. We have decided to start our updates on The Foster Family Journal , we will contunue to update maybe not day to day like the past. We ...as well as you (our prayer warriors) will need to continue to lean on our GOD for help and direction, so we will update you guys so you will know how to pray for us.

Kassidys funeral was great. We were able to see again how Kassidys fight touched people and changed there lives.There were about 20 people that accepted Christ in their life at the funeral. When we met with our Pastor to discuss the arrangments , we talked about this. You probably remember from a previous update I posted .When we was in the hospital with Kassidy ,She and I talked about Jesus, she told me she knew she was going to go to heaven but she wanted to make sure herself,so we all held hands and we said the sinners prayer as a family. So I knew she would be ok having the same thing done at her funeral. After the funeral Pastor told me, he thought it was around 50 people that publicly raised their hand and said the sinners prayer.... GOD IS GOOD!!!!!

SO NOW WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE..........

Today is Monday, we are in Crossville Tennenessee at Gymnastics camp with Courtney. .....John Macready and John Roethlisberger are two former olymnpians that have about 8 weeks of camp for young gymnast from all over the US. Kassidy and Courtney have been coming to this camp for the pasy 4 years. Courtney still wanted to come to camp for her scheduled week ,but she wanted Tammy and  I to attend also, so here we are .The staff her is wonderful , John is in New York commentating on the Pam Am games so he is allowing us to use his cabin. There are about 250 plus gymnast here so that will help keep Courtney busy for a while. Tammy and I will just hang out and enjoy the day run a few errands for the staff. I told Tammy this morning it is funny being here with no responsibablity at all but we know that will change soon. So at the end of the week will keep up with our normal family trip after camp and go to Pigeon Forge and go to Dollywood... this is something we also have done for the past 4 year, Courtney got one of her friends from gymnastics to go with her. Then we will return home.

Boy how fast does your life change ,2 weeks ago(Monday), we were on our way to California  with Kassidy, 1 week ago to this day(Monday) we were crying because she lost her fight on this earth, and today(Monday) I am telling you guys what we are doing without Kassidy in our lives..... life does go on. Please continue to pray for our family and remember your life can change in an instant also. Get your heart right with God, dont wait......... Kassidy did not want to wait. and now she is living with her Lord and Savior.

THANK YOU for attending the services...thank you for the cards and flowers.  and a big THANK YOU for the ladies of Havens Chapel in Check for the meals afterward the grave side service.We love you guys .......we will update soon

Danny Tammy Courtney and our Champion "Kassidy"