Ezra Phoenix Chatterton, the young World of Warcraft fan with cancer, died on Monday. I’ve been following his tragic tale since May 2007 when Blizzard Entertainment granted young Ezra’s wish and let him create a character for the game.
I have posted a tribute from his father, Micah, as well as links to the Ezra archive at the Register’s Blizzard Blog. Please read “A father’s tribute to Ezra, the World of Warcraft fan with brain cancer.“
I’m branching out and have started a new blog dedicated to covering the local gaming industry. We’re calling it GAME ROVER because pretty much every other game name has been taken. One of the first posts is an update to a story that Gadgetress readers may be interested in: the well being of young Ezra Chatterton, the Riverside kid with brain cancer who got his wish granted by Blizzard and its Warcraft team last year. Check it out at ocregister.com/gaming.
**See Latest UPDATES below in links area **
**UPDATE: June 15, 2008: Warcraft fan’s cancer spreads but family remains upbeat **
Eleven-year-old Ezra Chatterton (or to WoW players, ePhoenix) became famous last spring after the Make A Wish Foundation offered to grant his wish to design characters for his favorite game, the World of Warcraft.
The Riverside fifth-grader was diagnosed with a metastatic brain cancer and his father, Micah, wrote to update us on his condition which is improving but still plagued by cancer.
The good news is that Ezra’s most recent MRI results surprised his doctors and Micah with 98 percent shrinkage of the primary brain tumor and similar reduction in the other smaller metastases in his brain and spine. Also, Micah says that Ezra has glasses, his first pair, that offset the damage to his optic nerve. That, Micah says, means that Ezra has been able to “get back to reading and playing WOW (rather than ordering me to go there, kill that, farm those, etc.),” along with watching Lakers games.
Still, Ezra is back in the hospital. Micah says it’s for an infection that he hopes is something mild. Also, Ezra is still undergoing chemotherapy — treatment that every day has a new effect, whether its chronic nosebleeds, nausea, seizure activity in his brain, or just plain exhaustion.
Micah says that, “During the darker days of a chemotherapy round, it’s difficult to see how far his recovery has actually come. The treatment has also left him open to various infections I’d never heard of, like pancreatitis, which are a nightmare.”
The treatment, Micah says, is a long, slow battle and Micah is still a long way away from going back to school. Still, Micah took the time to thank others for support during Ezra’s journey:
“I’d like to take this opportunity again to thank everyone who has responded to Ezra’s story, both in the World of Warcraft community and out of it, as well as those who have kept us in their thoughts and prayers. Your good will has been a miraculous comfort to us. I believe in my heart that all of you have had a hand in Ezra’s recovery, miraculous as it is to this point. Thank you so much for all the love you’ve shown us. It would have been so much more difficult for Ezra to get through this disease without you.”
The Ezra Chatterton archive:
**Update** Ezra Chatterton passed away on Oct. 20, 2008. Read his father’s tribute HERE.
* Aug. 21, 2008: Ezra Update: WoW fan with cancer suffers stroke
* June 15, 2008: WoW fan’s cancer spreads but family remains upbeat
*Feb. 29, 2008: Ezra update: Still recovering, playing World of Warcraft
* Sept. 28, 2007: Ezra Update: Warcraft fan has ups and downs
* July 18, 2007: Ezra update: Warcraft fan with cancer turns 11
* June 13, 2007: UPDATE: Condition of Warcraft fan with cancer improves
* May 31, 2007, Big screen for Ezra?
* May 25, 2007: Fund for Warcraft fan with cancer set up
* May 23, 2007: Gamers show their support for Ezra
* May 22, 2007: Images of Ezra’s WoW creations, thanks to Blizzard developers
* May 22, 2007: The original story and slideshow:Blizzard makes WoW wish virtual
For those readers who have been following the life of Ezra Chatterton, the 11-year-old World of Warcraft fan battling brain cancer, I just heard from his father Micah. (Catch up by reading old posts)
The good news: He hasn’t had a headache in a month, which indicates the cancer has stopped growing. It’s possibly begun to shrink.
But complications from various medications are causing problems. Ezra headed back to the hospital on Monday with stomach pain.
Says Micah: It’s one of the mean ironies of cancer that the treatments are often just as painful, if not more so, than the disease. Still, we weren’t sure that he’d even get this far, let alone be able to come off all the pain meds he was on.
Ezra became famous last spring after the Make A Wish Foundation offered to grant his wish. His desire was to design characters for his favorite game, the World of Warcraft.
Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment did more than oblige. Staff artists, designers and developers worked with the young Riverside boy to create characters (including the Old Rancher, pictured on right), a quest and weapons. Ezra even got to do a voice over. And he went home piled with Blizzard goodies, not to mention a personal invite to this summer’s BlizzCon.
But I’m sure he would trade all of that to get rid of his cancer.
His father writes:
**SEE UPDATES in LINKS BELOW***
This is a periodic update of Ezra Chatterton, the 10-year-old World of Warcraft fan with brain cancer whose wish was granted by Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment. Developers created new characters and quests for the game in Ezra’s honor. His family believes that the outpouring of reader e-mail and support has helped Ezra on his road to recovery.
Ezra’s quest, new characters (such as Ahab Wheathoof , the rancher) and the new weapon — a fiery crossbow (on right) — are now in the game, according to Blizzard staff. Click on image for larger view.
But more importantly, I just heard from Ezra’s father, Micah, and Ezra’s last radiation treatment is this Friday, which coincides with his 11th birthday. If you’ve been following his story, send him a note to encourage him. Micah writes:
On the whole, though, he is making good progress with his treatment. He is not having any obvious headaches or pain from the cancer anymore, so we’ve been able to trim his pain medication back. This has allowed him to regain a bit of mental alertness and focus, as well as show us for sure that a good portion of his fatigue was the result of medication rather than the cancer or the radiation. …
Ezra’s been playing Warcraft III a lot recently to bone up on the mythology of the game. We’re going to see Jeff Kaplan and friends at BlizzCon next month, and Ezra wants to make sure he has some good conversation topics.
We still receive emails from WoW players, but not as many as before. I can’t say enough, though, about the effect they have had on Ezra. The confidence of these letters, saying he will get better, get through this, have really helped him have confidence that he will get better. I’m not sure how much this will alter his recovery, but I do believe in the power of mental healing and positive thinking. — Micah Chatterton
Thanks for the update Micah! If anyone has any Warcraft tips for Ezra, I’m sure he’d appreciate it. Send him an e-mail.
The Ezra Chatterton archive:
* Aug. 21, 2008: Ezra Update: WoW fan with cancer suffers stroke
* June 15, 2008: WoW fan’s cancer spreads but family remains upbeat
*Feb. 29, 2008: Ezra update: Still recovering, playing World of Warcraft
* Sept. 28, 2007: Ezra Update: Warcraft fan has ups and downs
* July 18, 2007: Ezra update: Warcraft fan with cancer turns 11
* June 13, 2007: UPDATE: Condition of Warcraft fan with cancer improves
* May 31, 2007, Big screen for Ezra?
* May 25, 2007: Fund for Warcraft fan with cancer set up
* May 23, 2007: Gamers show their support for Ezra
* May 22, 2007: Images of Ezra’s WoW creations, thanks to Blizzard developers
* May 22, 2007: The original story and slideshow:Blizzard makes WoW wish virtual
For the thousands of readers touched by Ezra Chatterton’s story, the 10-year-old boy who went from an ordinary kid to one with brain cancer within weeks is doing better, his father Micah tells me. Ezra is the ultimate Warcraft fan who used his wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation to ask Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment if he could create some characters and weapons for the massively popular World of Warcraft game.
But shortly after his visit to Blizzard, treatment started and it was agony for Ezra and his parents. That was about three weeks ago.
“He’s doing much better than I expected,” Micah wrote me. “He’s not experiencing much pain or nausea from the chemo, and aside from an overwhelming fatigue, the radiation is having very few negative side effects. Also, his headaches and back pain (from the tumors in his spine) have not been an issue for the last week and a half. That’s not to say that, were he not on elephant-grade painkillers, he wouldn’t still be in pain, but it’s progress nonetheless.
Also, one of his eyes is starting to show improvement in its range of motion. This is good because it makes it easier for him to play WoW for more than 10 minutes at a time before the eye strain gets to him.
Some other issues the young family faces are mounting health care bills and getting full coverage for the treatment — not everything is covered by insurance. There is a fund, if anyone wants to help out. Details are posted HERE.
In the few minutes a day Ezra does get a chance to play WoW, his guild continues to be strong supporters. Micah calls the guild “the virtual equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor. It was very touching, in a geeky sort of way.”
Micah plans to update Ezra’s fans at a new blog, at www.ezrachatterton.blogspot.com. There are no posts yet but the site may be taking comments.
The Ezra Chatterton archive:
* June 15, 2008: Warcraft fan’s cancer spreads but family remains upbeat
*Feb. 29, 2008: Ezra update: Still recovering, playing World of Warcraft
* Sept. 28, 2007: Ezra Update: Warcraft fan has ups and downs
* July 18, 2007: Ezra update: Warcraft fan with cancer turns 11
* June 13, 2007: UPDATE: Condition of Warcraft fan with cancer improves
* May 31, 2007, Big screen for Ezra?
* May 25, 2007: Fund for Warcraft fan with cancer set up
* May 23, 2007: Gamers show their support for Ezra
* May 22, 2007: Images of Ezra’s WoW creations, thanks to Blizzard developers
* May 22, 2007: The original story and slideshow:Blizzard makes WoW wish virtual reality
I’m continuing to receive e-mails from readers and World Warcraft players who were touched by the Ezra Chatterton story — the 10-year-old boy with brain cancer who Blizzard granted the ultimate Warcraft fan wish (create new characters, etc for the game).
Response to the family continues to amaze Ezra and his parents, Micah and Elizabeth. The latest is they were contacted by Victor Pineiro, a filmmaker working on the “Second Skin” documentary for Sundance 08 on WoW and other massively multiplayer online games (Ezra’s unsure if he has the energy to do the interview, said his dad). A digital-art graduate student at Australia National University interviewed Micah for a paper on the same subject.
Meanwhile, of course, the update on Ezra:
The first few days of treatment have gone well, aside from him sleeping all the time, but it’s really so important to the possibility of his recovery that he respond to this first round of treatment, and I believe in my heart that prayer works, kind wishes from strangers help. If you would like to include something of this sentiment in your update, I would love that. — Micah Chatterton, Ezra’s father
Kyle the Frenzied is named and modeled after Ezra’s own dog.
For past updates:
* May 25, 2007: Fund set up for Ezra
* May 23, 2007: Gamers show their support for Ezra
* May 22, 2007: Images of Ezra’s WoW creations, thanks to Blizzard developers
Somehow, this entry got deleted. But for those who want to donate to help the Chatterton family take care of Ezra’s health expenses, here are the details:
Please make checks payable to: “Micah Chatterton, FBO Ezra Chatterton” (FBO = For Benefit Of). It’s important that checks are written exactly that way otherwise they will not be depositable.
The Ephoenix Fund
P.O. Box 55781
Riverside, CA 92517
You can also donate via PayPal. Use the e-mail address ephoenix@earthlink.net
The Ezra Chatterton archive:
 To view local listings CLICK
HERE
Or visit your TV provider: * Cox Cable * Time Warner Cable * DirecTV * Dish Network * AT&T U-verse * Verizon FiOS *
Watch a show online HERE. |
|---|
 The North Orange County Computer Club answers your tech questions. Visit the PC Club page and the Stump archives. |
|---|
More O.C. Tech News
Here's a list of TV/mobile companies helping consumers one tweet at a time. 
