Nicolle Kissee, 19, took her last breath in her bedroom on July 13, surrounded by her parents, her teddy bear and her youngest sister, after two grueling years.
“Nicolle's wish was to die at home,” said her mother, Vicki Kissee. “Being in the hospital meant being away from family; it meant she was sick. She just wanted to be at home.”
Another of Nicolle's wishes – sharing how she and her family bravely and honestly coped with terminal melanoma – will be fulfilled Dec. 6, when Showtime airs the final episode of the documentary series “Time of Death.” Cameras followed Nicolle's final months, days and minutes, taking viewers into the light blue-walled bedroom where she died enveloped in kisses, tears and words of love.
“Her statement to me was, ‘I haven't lived long enough to have a legacy,'” said Dr. Leonard Sender, Nicolle's oncologist at Children's Hospital of Orange County, who recruited her for the documentary. “‘This could be a legacy. If people can learn from watching me go through this process, then it's worthwhile.'”
Vicki Kissee, a preschool teacher who lives in Mira Loma with her husband, Tommy, and their two other daughters, said Nicolle wanted to be remembered. Her parents supported her choice to participate in the documentary, even though that meant camera crews filming in their home 24 hours a day during her final two months.
“It was whatever Nicolle wanted,” said her father, Tommy Kissee, 43. “The story of the battle and the story of the love that a family can have and what they can endure.”
OMINOUS DIAGNOSIS
In January 2011, Nicolle saw a dermatologist after a freckle on her back grew and began to itch. She was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma one month before her 17th birthday.
The cancer quickly spread to her lungs and eventually to her brain. Nicolle underwent chemotherapy and radiation but insisted on living a normal life.
She continued attending high school and singing with the Chamber Singers. She had always dreamed of becoming a veterinarian and went to work at Petco grooming dogs. She timed chemo so she wouldn't be too tired and sick to attend her senior prom, wearing a Cinderella blue dress made by her aunt.
Nicolle graduated with honors and began attending community college classes on crutches after the cancer spread to her knees.
“She didn't want her cancer to dictate her life,” Vicki Kissee, 37, said. “She just didn't want to miss anything. She wanted to live.”
By COURTNEY PERKES
“Nicolle's wish was to die at home,” said her mother, Vicki Kissee. “Being in the hospital meant being away from family; it meant she was sick. She just wanted to be at home.”
Another of Nicolle's wishes – sharing how she and her family bravely and honestly coped with terminal melanoma – will be fulfilled Dec. 6, when Showtime airs the final episode of the documentary series “Time of Death.” Cameras followed Nicolle's final months, days and minutes, taking viewers into the light blue-walled bedroom where she died enveloped in kisses, tears and words of love.
“Her statement to me was, ‘I haven't lived long enough to have a legacy,'” said Dr. Leonard Sender, Nicolle's oncologist at Children's Hospital of Orange County, who recruited her for the documentary. “‘This could be a legacy. If people can learn from watching me go through this process, then it's worthwhile.'”
Vicki Kissee, a preschool teacher who lives in Mira Loma with her husband, Tommy, and their two other daughters, said Nicolle wanted to be remembered. Her parents supported her choice to participate in the documentary, even though that meant camera crews filming in their home 24 hours a day during her final two months.
“It was whatever Nicolle wanted,” said her father, Tommy Kissee, 43. “The story of the battle and the story of the love that a family can have and what they can endure.”
OMINOUS DIAGNOSIS
In January 2011, Nicolle saw a dermatologist after a freckle on her back grew and began to itch. She was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma one month before her 17th birthday.
The cancer quickly spread to her lungs and eventually to her brain. Nicolle underwent chemotherapy and radiation but insisted on living a normal life.
She continued attending high school and singing with the Chamber Singers. She had always dreamed of becoming a veterinarian and went to work at Petco grooming dogs. She timed chemo so she wouldn't be too tired and sick to attend her senior prom, wearing a Cinderella blue dress made by her aunt.
Nicolle graduated with honors and began attending community college classes on crutches after the cancer spread to her knees.
“She didn't want her cancer to dictate her life,” Vicki Kissee, 37, said. “She just didn't want to miss anything. She wanted to live.”
By COURTNEY PERKES
Nicolle Kissee, 19, took her last breath in her bedroom on July 13, surrounded by her parents, her teddy bear and her youngest sister, after two grueling years.
“Nicolle's wish was to die at home,” said her mother, Vicki Kissee. “Being in the hospital meant being away from family; it meant she was sick. She just wanted to be at home.”
Another of Nicolle's wishes – sharing how she and her family bravely and honestly coped with terminal melanoma – will be fulfilled Dec. 6, when Showtime airs the final episode of the documentary series “Time of Death.” Cameras followed Nicolle's final months, days and minutes, taking viewers into the light blue-walled bedroom where she died enveloped in kisses, tears and words of love.
“Her statement to me was, ‘I haven't lived long enough to have a legacy,'” said Dr. Leonard Sender, Nicolle's oncologist at Children's Hospital of Orange County, who recruited her for the documentary. “‘This could be a legacy. If people can learn from watching me go through this process, then it's worthwhile.'”
Vicki Kissee, a preschool teacher who lives in Mira Loma with her husband, Tommy, and their two other daughters, said Nicolle wanted to be remembered. Her parents supported her choice to participate in the documentary, even though that meant camera crews filming in their home 24 hours a day during her final two months.
“It was whatever Nicolle wanted,” said her father, Tommy Kissee, 43. “The story of the battle and the story of the love that a family can have and what they can endure.”
OMINOUS DIAGNOSIS
In January 2011, Nicolle saw a dermatologist after a freckle on her back grew and began to itch. She was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma one month before her 17th birthday.
The cancer quickly spread to her lungs and eventually to her brain. Nicolle underwent chemotherapy and radiation but insisted on living a normal life.
She continued attending high school and singing with the Chamber Singers. She had always dreamed of becoming a veterinarian and went to work at Petco grooming dogs. She timed chemo so she wouldn't be too tired and sick to attend her senior prom, wearing a Cinderella blue dress made by her aunt.
Nicolle graduated with honors and began attending community college classes on crutches after the cancer spread to her knees.
“She didn't want her cancer to dictate her life,” Vicki Kissee, 37, said. “She just didn't want to miss anything. She wanted to live.”
By COURTNEY PERKES
“Nicolle's wish was to die at home,” said her mother, Vicki Kissee. “Being in the hospital meant being away from family; it meant she was sick. She just wanted to be at home.”
Another of Nicolle's wishes – sharing how she and her family bravely and honestly coped with terminal melanoma – will be fulfilled Dec. 6, when Showtime airs the final episode of the documentary series “Time of Death.” Cameras followed Nicolle's final months, days and minutes, taking viewers into the light blue-walled bedroom where she died enveloped in kisses, tears and words of love.
“Her statement to me was, ‘I haven't lived long enough to have a legacy,'” said Dr. Leonard Sender, Nicolle's oncologist at Children's Hospital of Orange County, who recruited her for the documentary. “‘This could be a legacy. If people can learn from watching me go through this process, then it's worthwhile.'”
Vicki Kissee, a preschool teacher who lives in Mira Loma with her husband, Tommy, and their two other daughters, said Nicolle wanted to be remembered. Her parents supported her choice to participate in the documentary, even though that meant camera crews filming in their home 24 hours a day during her final two months.
“It was whatever Nicolle wanted,” said her father, Tommy Kissee, 43. “The story of the battle and the story of the love that a family can have and what they can endure.”
OMINOUS DIAGNOSIS
In January 2011, Nicolle saw a dermatologist after a freckle on her back grew and began to itch. She was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma one month before her 17th birthday.
The cancer quickly spread to her lungs and eventually to her brain. Nicolle underwent chemotherapy and radiation but insisted on living a normal life.
She continued attending high school and singing with the Chamber Singers. She had always dreamed of becoming a veterinarian and went to work at Petco grooming dogs. She timed chemo so she wouldn't be too tired and sick to attend her senior prom, wearing a Cinderella blue dress made by her aunt.
Nicolle graduated with honors and began attending community college classes on crutches after the cancer spread to her knees.
“She didn't want her cancer to dictate her life,” Vicki Kissee, 37, said. “She just didn't want to miss anything. She wanted to live.”
By COURTNEY PERKES
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