Part 1 of 2:
Francis John Gebeline was born on January 7, 1999. He was a healthy, active and mischievous little boy. Frankie was one of four children, an older sister Julianna, and two younger brothers Paul and Jonathan. 

Frankie was diagnosed on July 24, 2003, with a rare, aggressive, malignant spinal tumor called a Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath tumor. His tumor was very large and had invaded his T3 and T4 vertebrae, growing around the spinal cord and restricting the spinal fluid. It had also wrapped around his windpipe. The chances of developing this type of cancer was .01%, and the survival rate was 40% over 5 years. This type of tumor is also notorious for being unresponsive to chemotherapy and radiation.

Over the next 4 years, Frankie fought this horrible disease. He received years of chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and countless surgeries in the hopes of one day being cured. He endured mouth sores, fevers of unknown origin, vomiting, weight loss, hair loss, and a list of other very serious side effects from his chemotherapy treatments. Radiation treatment was done at St Jude’s Children’s Research hospital, where he was separated from his family for an entire summer. He also had several surgeries, such as a laminectomy and an invasive spinal surgery attempting to remove tumor from his body. He spent much of these 4 years in the hospital. 

This little boy was a fighter. He loved his family very dearly, including his extended family a t the hospital-his nurses, doctors, and other children in the oncology unit and their families. He was a blessing to our family, and to everyone who ever knew him. He was full of mischief, humor, strength, and courage.