David Clark, right, and his sisters Melissa and Amber, aunt Laurie, uncle Joe and grandmother Terry, speak with Presdient George W. Bush for about 15 minutes Tuesday before Bush boarded the presidential helicopter.

David Clark sat in his living room Thursday afternoon, shuffling
through a roll of film from his trip last week to Washington, D.C.
The 14-year-old freckle-faced boy with buzzed hair
– who suffers from brain stem cancer – excitedly grinned at each
passing photo.
Included in the pictures were shots of his family entering a
limousine, the Marine One helicopter and a snapshot of an overjoyed
David
– his shoulders wrapped by the arms of President George W.
Bush.
David Clark sat in his living room Thursday afternoon, shuffling through a roll of film from his trip last week to Washington, D.C. The 14-year-old freckle-faced boy with buzzed hair – who suffers from brain stem cancer – excitedly grinned at each passing photo.

Included in the pictures were shots of his family entering a limousine, the Marine One helicopter and a snapshot of an overjoyed David – his shoulders wrapped by the arms of President George W. Bush.

David – along with his two sisters, aunt Laurie, uncle Joe and grandmother Terry – just completed a five-day trip to meet the president, sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The Sacred Heart School seventh-grader – who would be in eighth grade if not for cancer treatments – takes a keen interest in American history, a hobby picked up from his grandmother.

The family left its Hollister home Jan. 2 and returned Wednesday, noticeably delighted by the journey’s memories and eager to talk about the fulfillment of David’s wish.

“Riding in the limo was cool,” David said and added that meeting Bush was – of course – the most exciting part of the trip.

Since 1984, the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation has served children with life-threatening diseases by granting them one wish and creating memories for the child’s family. The foundation has previously served six other children from San Benito County.

David, a History Channel buff, had a simple reason for choosing a meeting with Bush as his wish.

“I just wanted to meet the president,” said David, whose chemotherapy treatments have caused a noticeable speech impediment.

After a limousine escort to the airport, the family arrived in Washington, D.C. the night of Jan. 3. They visited several historic sites, including the National Air and Space Museum, Henry Ford Museum and the Holocaust Museum.

Then it was to the White House Tuesday, where David proved to be zealous with questions, even some unusual ones.

“His (Bush’s) father doesn’t like broccoli,” David abruptly said.

But David did ask the president some more serious questions, too.

“Who’s your favorite president, other than your dad?” he asked Bush – whose answer was Abraham Lincoln.

“Because he unified our country,” Bush replied, according to Laurie.

Both Laurie and Terry said they were impressed by Bush’s courteous demeanor.

“He told Laurie (David’s surrogate mother) she had twinkly eyes and that she was doing a good job with the kids,” Terry said. “He is so unbelievably gracious and friendly. He makes you feel so comfortable.”

And David, true to his forward persona, felt comfortable with the president as well.

“He didn’t get tongue-tied at all,” Terry said.

Terry adopted the three children when the San Diego County Superior Court revoked custody from the the biological parents when David was a baby. Their birth mother is Terry’s other daughter and Laurie’s sister. Neither of the biological parents now live in the area.

Uncle Joe has also helped raise the children. Even while living in Chicago, he flies to Hollister whenever possible to be with the family.

“They have done wonders,” Terry said of Laurie and Joe.

Childhood brain cancer

David was diagnosed Dec. 14, 2000 with medulloblastoma – a tumor that forms on the cerebellum, the lower back portion of a person’s brain. It’s the part of the brain that controls movement and posture, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The disease has caused problems with David’s balance, evidenced by his unsteady walk. His ability to hear has also gradually declined, the reason why he wears hearing aids in both ears.

Other common symptoms of the disease include slow speech, poor handwriting, headaches, nausea, erratic sleepiness, altered behavior and irregular weight gain or loss.

About one in five childhood brain tumors are medulloblastoma, according to the NCI. And the cause of David’s affliction is unknown but definitely not genetic, Terry said.

David received treatment immediately after his diagnosis at the University of California, San Francisco in December 2000. The family recalled a friendly visitor that Christmas eve, actor Robin Williams, who has a reputation for visiting hospitals each year during the holidays to give presents to children with life-threatening diseases.

“He got behind David’s wheelchair and pretended it was a bobsled,” Laurie said.

After one year of chemotherapy and radiation, David moved on to Magnetic Resonance Imaging tests every four months, which he still receives.

David doesn’t cringe or shy away from his cancer. He understands the reality and potential of the disease. He falls under the category of “average risk,” according to the NCI.

His surrogate parents said although doctors cannot provide an accurate percentage chance of survival, the outlook improves with each MRI. Laurie called David’s ultimate outlook “positive,” while Terry called it “very positive.”

David – whose animated personality shows even with strangers – suddenly pointed to the back of his neck where doctors performed surgery two years ago. The incision left a permanent scar.

“It’s a tube that drains the extra fluid,” David said of the hardened bump on his neck. “If you touch it right here, you can feel it.”

During his initial stay at UC San Francisco, Mark Grace, a friend of the family, put David’s name on a list of applicants for Make-A-Wish. The organization contacted David at the hospital almost immediately.

The rest is history – a thought David will surely appreciate.

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A staff member wrote, edited or posted this article, which may include information provided by one or more third parties.

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