DYLAN STRONG!!

For those of you who follow my blog, you likely already know about my buddy Dylan, who I refer to as my "lil' cancer warrior".  He is the son of one of my dearest friends Amy & her husband Brian.  As this family endures the wrath of cancer for the 3rd time around, one of the things that is very clear to me, and many others, is that Dylan clearly gets his strength and perserverence from his amazing parents.  Amy & Brian's unconditional love for each other, as well as their children cannot be put into words.  They have faced many hurdles but they always find a way to jump over them and  continue marching onward.  No matter what life throws at them, Team Beach (Amy, Brian, Dylan & little sister Melissa) never give up & they never give in!! 

Dylan just underwent his 3rd brain surgery, ironically on his parents 9th wedding anniversary (revert back to the paragraph above where I speak about his parents unconditional love for one another & their amazing strength no matter what they are faced with).  It is my opinion & I think there are many others who will agree with me, that Dylan's strength & bravery resemble that of a superhero.  He is an amazing kid who continues to kick brain cancer's ass!  Please keep Dylan & his family in your thoughts & prayers.       
 
If you're just tuning into my blog for the first time, below is a really brief timeline of events that will give you the quick version of my lil' cancer warrior's battle with brain cancer.  There's also a few links to previous posts I've made since Dylan was first diagnosed in Dec 2008. 

 

Sitting up in bed post surgery

2 Dec 2008:  Dylan is DX @ the age of 2 with an anaplastic ependymoma tumor.  He underwent emergency surgery immediately where the Dr successfully removed the baseball size tumor. 

27 May 2009:  Dylan gets a successful autologous stemcell transplant.



*  Completes Chemo
*  MRI's remain clear!

5 August 2009:  Dylan celebrated his 3rd birthday!   

16 August 2009:  Dylan became a big brother as baby sis, Melissa entered the world today!!!

One of my all time fav pics of Dylan

 *MRI's remain clear!

5 August 2010: Dylan celebrated his 4th birthday!  And baby sis Melissa celebrated her 1st birthday on 16 August 2010.

*MRI's remain clear!

5 August 2011:  Dylan celebrates his 5th birthday and little sister Melissa turned 2yrs old on 16 August!
http://tullycrineturtle.blogspot.com/2011/03/friends-of-jaclyn-foundation.html

*MRI's remain clear!

14 March 2012:  MRI shows the tumor has returned. 
26 March 2012:  Dylan has his 2nd successful brain surgery to remove another  ependymoma tumor.

Chillin' with a lollipop a few days after Surgery #2

*MRI's remain clear!

 5 August 2012:  Dylan celebrates his 6th birthday & sister Melissa turned 3yrs old on 16 August 2012!

*MRI's remain clear!!

5 August 2013:  Dylan celebrates his 7th birthday and sister Melissa turns 4yrs old on 16 August 2013!!

6 November 2013:  MRI shows a pea-size nodule has returned.  
Surgery is scheduled for 13 Nov. 
13 November 2013:  Dylan undergoes his 3rd brain surgery.  Dr successfully removes nodule & surrounding tissue.  

Heading HOME after Surgery #3!!!

#DylanStrong