Dad of 3 👧 | CNN political investigations | Co-founder
@TeamBeansFund
- funding childhood cancer research in memory of my daughter Andrew.w.Kaczynski
@gmail
.com
We’re heartbroken to have to announce our beautiful daughter Francesca passed away last night in the arms of her mom and dad. There will always be a Bean-sized hole in our hearts for her. We’re so grateful to have known her love.
Francesca we love you.
If anyone can spare a pray for our Bean this Christmas, would just ask they include Francesca in their thoughts and hope for a Christmas miracle for our family.
Everytime I complain about doing something, I remember my daughter had five brain surgeries for her cancer and came out of each one with a big smile from cheek to cheek.
I know a lot of you didn’t know Beans before her cancer diagnosis in September. She had such a pep in her step before she started treatment. And we’re so fortunate she got six normal months of life. This was from the end of July.
Introducing the newest member of our family, who joined us Thursday. Talia Davida Kaczynski. She was named with the Hebrew name of her big sister Beans. We love her endlessly.
A personal note:
Our six month old daughter Francesca was diagnosed with an extremely rare and very aggressive rhabdoid brain tumor this week.
We’re looking at any and all treatments right now, including experimental.
Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers.
I had my first “how’s your baby” today from someone who didn’t know Francesca died and I managed to get through without crying. Which felt like a big accomplishment.
Wanted to thank everyone who has sent us messages about Francesca, the last month has been really hard and we appreciate them from the bottom of our hearts. We will never forget the kindness shown to us and our daughter.
One of the hardest things about losing our only child has been not having anywhere to put that love I learned as a dad when having baby Beans. I don't know what the healing process will be like, but it's just a feeling of having this hole missing in our lives.
Hey everyone, Francesca not only had a successful brain surgery yesterday to put in a shunt — her fifth in a month - but today we got to go outside on the roof of the hospital for the first time.
It’s been one month since we lost our little bean. Even though Francesca was so much more than a cancer kid, her diagnosis will always be the dividing line in our life. Everything came before and everything after.
Missed our little munchkin a lot today. It is really hard thinking about the last month of her life. And I struggle with many of the images of those last weeks in the ICU. This was our last normal day.
I had this moment of extreme peace last night after the race where I just felt Beans’ presence so much saying, “you’ve done so much for me dad, even if you stopped today you’ve done right.” I just felt like I really honored her well and felt such a peace in that.
Anytime I think of Beans and look at Tallia, and I’m just filled with so much love for her and gratitude knowing how lucky I am and how precious but fleeting life can be.
In days since Francesca's death we've gone through a lot of emotions. I've finally been able to watch videos and photos of her from before treatment began. I still cry at them, but it's a different kind of emotion. Watching her silly moments have made me laugh again.
Unfortunately, our sweet daughter Francesca is still very very critically ill in the ICU and could use all your thoughts and prayers over the next few days. We are all pulling for her, but she is sadly in a very tough fight.
#TeamBeans
I thought the one-year anniversary of Francesca’s death would be horrible. And I did cry a lot. But I felt such a pride thinking about all my little girl has accomplished. I found myself smiling thinking about her and felt such a peace.
This was one year ago, only about a week or so before Beans fell very ill and never recovered. She had started getting her first tooth and started doing this gummy smile. Love you forever Beans. I won’t stop grieving you until I join you someday.
My little munchkin had a successful surgery today to get a stomach tube instead of a nose tube for her feeds/medications. She’s already feeling more comfortable.
I missed my daughter a lot. The truth is I wish I didn’t feel all the pain all the time. I felt it’s overwhelming and all consuming. Her one year birthday would be coming up next week. I’ve found the month of March really hard. The constant reminders of everything we’ve lost.
Just wanted to share with everyone a bit of good news. Francesca has recovered so incredibly well from chemotherapy we were able to be discharged for a few days between chemo cycles. And there are some early signs her chemo is beginning to work.
Wanted to give everyone an update on Francesca. Today was our first full day of the beginning of intense chemotherapy. Please keep us in your prayers the next couple months as we hope today was the first day on the way to recovery.
Hey everyone, my little girl is in a pretty rough stretch of her chemotherapy cycle and not feeling so hot. She could really use some prayers right now.
Francesca has thankfully improved since Wednesday after two days of very concerning deterioration. She has been fighting a terrible fungal infection she is struggling with as a complication of her chemotherapy and tomorrow will mark two weeks on a ventilator and life support.
I feel so broken missing Beans everyday. But I know that pain is my love for her and the pain is all I have left. It really hurts, but hurts is better than feeling nothing you know?
Watching Francesca on a ventilator has been so hard the past 2+ weeks. Since the infection is very hard to be cleared and takes a lot of time, the uncertainty and stress is so draining. But the thought watching her struggle for more weeks only to die is terrible to me.
I struggle to put into words the feeling of my daughter struggling with complications from her chemotherapy. It’s like there is a cloud hanging over me. Everyday I wonder will she get better and turn it around or is this it?
Two years ago we lost Francesca to brain cancer.
She loved balloons, Elmo, and smiling at the all the doctors and nurses she met. Her short life and death changed me forever and taught me a love I will never forget.
I think about her everyday and we miss her tremendously.
One of the hardest parts of watching Francesca on life support has just been the limbo of everything. When she's not getting worse, but not getting better. Just the day in and out of waiting becomes so hard. I hope everyday for that sign she's getting better and can improve.
I still have a lot of PTSD from the last month of my daughter’s life. I don’t know if it will ever go away. I hear an upset baby and brings back my worst moments from before she was transferred to the ICU and went into septic shock. Therapy helps but it strikes at random.
I keep thinking about how 12 years ago Joe Biden and Sarah Palin were debating for Vice President. And now he’s the Democratic frontrunner and she’s singing Baby Got Back in a bear costume.
Even when she wasn’t feeling so great or was tired from her cancer treatments, I always felt like everything was ok in the world when holding Francesca. And I think she did too.
We took our last family photo on Thanksgiving of last year. Grateful for Beans, her amazing doctors and nurses, and all the amazing people who have helped us build the
@TeamBeansFund
this year to start the Infant Brain Tumor Program at
@DFBC_PedCare
.
A lot of people sent us toys/books that brand new we weren't able to use while Francesca was really sick. It felt really good to donate that stuff to the hospital and others. And to donate all our unused breast milks to the hospital for kids in the NICU.
I always thought that Beans looked so pretty on this day when we went to meet with an oncologist in Manhattan right after she was diagnosed. It was Rachel’s birthday. I loved her little jean jacket and dinosaur headband for her hearing aids.
I was looking at photos from when Francesca was first diagnosed. This was one day after we learned her brain tumor was cancerous. Two days after she nearly died. It was horrible and devastating, but in that moment I was just so happy she was off her ventilator and awake.
One of the hardest things about losing Francesca has been that every day she becomes more of a memory to me. Tomorrow will be five months since she died and at some point this year she'll have been dead longer than she has been alive. It's scary to me and hard to think about.
When we discovered Beans loved balloons, the first thing I did when we came back to the hospital for our 3rd chemo cycle was buy her the biggest balloon in his hospital. The pain of her loss in many ways only gets harder with time right now, but I’ve learned grief isn’t linear.
I have always loved this photo of the two of us because I think Francesca looks like a little baby model and I am wearing something that isn’t sweatpants during 2020. It was a few weeks before she was diagnosed with brain cancer.
On the same day Larry Kudlow said coronavirus was “contained” on Feb. 25th, Trump’s campaign spox made an even more bold claim.
“We will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here..and isn't it refreshing when contrasting it with the awful presidency of President Obama."
I wrote about our daughter's experience, the reality of pediatric brain cancer – 6 surgeries, infections, the ICU, seizures, chemotherapy, and her death.
I spent weeks learning what we can do to save other kids.
I'd be honored if you'd read & share.
My wife and I are overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity. We had a small hiccup tonight and had to go back to ER because she developed a fever but we’re heading home now.
We’re moving to Boston this weekend and beginning treatment next week. Our daughter has long battle ahead...
If you’re near Prospect Park please visit the first bench on Prospect Park West, which was dedicated today in our honor Of Beans.
Thank you to our friends who paid for the restoration of this bench.
Deleted the tweet calling out the guy using Beans’ death to attack me. Not worth it and should not have given him the attention he craved. It is hard to ignore because of rage, but I know I should.
Welcomed a new eight pound, two ounce addition into our family last week. Her name is Maya and we love her tremendously. Talia is thrilled to be a big sister.
Nurses and medical professionals are heroes. The team that cared for Francesca her last weeks of life sent us this card on her birthday. If you know a doctor or nurse thank them for all they’ve done the last two years.
Happy to announce the Niagara Falls Illumination Board has accepted our request to light the falls yellow for 15 minutes on September 6th for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Here's video we just played on CNN of comments Kayleigh McEnany made criticizing Donald Trump in 2015, calling comments from Trump "racist," and saying he was "a showman," not "a serious candidate' and adding "I don't want to claim this guy."