The community of Eastern Madera County is mourning the loss of one of their children. Last week sixteen year old Danny Zabicki lost his battle with cancer. Danny was a sweet and talented young man that was an inspiration to all that knew him. His parents, well known and respected, own one of Oakhurst’s best places to eat, The Crab Cake’s Restaurant.

There will be a fundraiser on Monday, October 27, 2008, from 12:00am to 7:00pm. for the Zabicki family. The event will be held at the Crab Cake’s Restaurant Patio. This will be a great opportunity to honor and remember a fine young man that was taken from us so soon in life.

Our prayers and thoughts go out to this fine family.

For information call Heather 559 676-5056 or Linda 559 683-6993.

Written by Chuck from Good Ol Daze

Good Morning Family and Friends,

I am writing this on behalf of my neighbor, Danny Zabicki, age sixteen.  Fifteen months ago Danny was diagnosed with stage 4 Rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer.  It has been a tortuous year long battle for Danny and his family to fight this monster.  He had just completed the last of the chemo and radiation treatments last week and went in for tests/scans to determine the success of the treatment.  Unfortunately, a tumor at the base of his brain in the lining was discovered.

They came home and had an evening with friends to take their minds off the situation.  About 8 a.m. on Saturday (5/31), Roman (Danny’s dad) called and asked us to watch for the ambulance.  Frank jumped in the truck and went down to the main road to direct the fire trucks/ambulance.  Danny had woken up with a severe headache that went into seizures.  When the medics brought Danny out on the gurney, he was unconscious.  All we could do was hold onto his parents.

About 4 p.m. that afternoon, brain surgery took place to drain off the blood that was inside his head.  The neurosurgeon was successful in getting the blood/blood clot out but was not able to do anything at the time about the tumor.  He has a shunt to drain off additional bleeds (if any) and is on a ventilator.  He does respond to pain and the presence of family/friends.  Further tests will be done shortly once he has gathered more strength to fight this monster.

I am asking, begging, pleading with all of you to pray for Danny, his Mom and Dad (Roman and Laura) and his brother, Andrejz (Onjy).  His Polish family in Michigan has started Danny’s Army and is praying every day at 9 a.m. (PDT).  The power of prayer is wondrous and has brought Danny this far.  The family’s faith in God is powerful but I am sure they are doubting now.  Danny is in the arms of an angel now and desperately needs your prayers.

Thank you so much for listening to me.  We have no more words for the family…just hugs and prayers.

Love to all of you,

Dianne & Frank

P.S.  If you want to spread the word even further, that would be most appreciated!  If you want to follow his story, you can go to www.carepages.org.  His story is under patient dannyzab.

If this doesn’t touch you!

http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1
The above is the hottest thing on the internet and on Fox News today. Lizzie Palmer who put this YouTube program together is 15 years old. There have been over 3,000,000 hits as of this morning. In case you missed it, here it is. (if you can’t open it right away, try later – the site may be busy)

If you go to this web site, www.letssaythanks.com, you can pick out a
thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier
that is currently serving in Iraq. You can’t pick out who gets it, but
it will go to some member of the armed services.
How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!!
This is a great site.
Please send a card. It is FREE and it only takes a second.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these?
Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there
need to know we are behind them…

As the holiday season is approaching, so many people begin to collect food for those in need. At the Madera County Food Bank, you will find a wonderful place in need of your donations. “It is the purpose of the Madera County Food Bank to provide and distribute supplementary/emergency food to our community’s low-income individual, families, and Senior Citizens, in a manner that promotes health, self-sufficiency and preserves recipients’ dignity.” http://www.maderafoodbank.org/ This facility offers so much for our community, when and where, it is needed most.

The “Compassion in Action” clients are referred to the food bank by hospitals, service providers, and ministers, etc… This program offers on-going nutritional support to families who suffer from a long term crisis such as Cancer and AIDS. Their need for food is met at the Madera County Food Pantry when they cannot be met elsewhere. Compassion in Action families will receive approximately 70 pounds of food two times per month. The items donated to the family are individualized to better aid in the recovery of the client.

Another great program is SNAPP (Senior Nutrition and Produce Program). This is a service providing bags of food for low income seniors. Not only do they provide a service, but also a social outlet for our seniors. Seniors 55 and over will be given fresh fruit and vegetables each week. Seniors who are 60 and over can receive additional food once a month. They offer many sites for seniors to come together and package food for those in need. For more information, call (559) 674-1482.

I would like to take a moment to thank all our troops for their hardwork and dedication for our country and our freedom. Let’s pray for the families who have lost loved ones this Memorial Day and remember and honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Remember when you see one of our soldiers to thank them and let them know we are proud of them.

Happy Memorial Day,

Brandon Fairbanks