Having your first seizure begin 30 feet up in the air and, then waking up in the hospital to be told the story of your near miss of getting off the work scaffolding barely in time before it hit is terrifying. Being told in the ER that the MRI revealed the cause of the seizure is due to a brain tumor is soul wrenching. Realizing you have to tell your wife and children, with whom you have just been you’ve reunited with after 4 months apart, that the dreams they were on the cusp of now living with you would have to be put on indefinite hold is heartbreaking.
While Dylan lay in the hospital bed awaiting the arrival of his wife and kids, who had only just arrived from the Chicagoland area a little over 2 weeks before, he realized that out of all the challenges they had fought their way through since the decline of the Illinois housing and job market beginning in 2008, that this would not only be their greatest challenge yet, but could very well likely strip away the dream they had sacrificed so much for just as it finally began to manifest.
Dylan calmly told Angela his wife as she held their 1 year old and comforted their 4 and 7 year old that he had a brain tumor and surgery would be needed to remove it. The doctor believed that the stress of being apart for 4 months, her in Chicago with their 3 small children and Dylan in Seattle in an effort to find a new home and new job is what most likely triggered the fluid and bleeding around the tumor, which then caused the seizure. The tumor is likely benign, but even with surgery it appears to be the type of tumor that can grow back if even the tiniest of pieces are left behind. The way in which the tumor is interwoven into his brain tissue has created a situation where biopsying it prior to surgery is not worth the risk it poses to Dylan. Due to the complications and the challenges the tumor has created for Dylan, it has to come out anyway. Dylan was put on 3 different anti-seizure drugs, steroids and pain killers and is scheduled to have the tumor removed on August 31st, 2012. The neurosurgeon said that a certain instrument used in the operating room would hold the best success in removing the whole tumor that is located in and between the occipital and temporal lobes of the brain.
Moving to Seattle for stable work was Dylan and Angela’s “Hail Mary Pass” in finding a financially secure and nurturing environment for their children to grow up in. When they reunited they thought that the risk of that pass had paid off. So while amidst the cheering of their fans, friends and family, this catastrophic hit that came out of left field has now put them at risk of losing their key player; a man who has had the weight of his families’ hopes riding heavily on his shoulders and who is undoubtedly the center of their universe. He is the love of all their lives for the simple fact that he’s an incredibly loving and giving person who is also a dedicated and adoring daddy and husband.
With Dylan being an avid runner who excels at marathon and ultra-marathon running, his daily regimen of eating healthy, taking vitamins and training after work or after the kids are in bed, is what doctors would say is “everything right”. This leaves us all contemplating the how and why of the situation that has devastated this family. The how’s and why’s are irrelevant, but the actions we can take to help sustain them through this and ensure Dylan receives the medical care, surgery and rehabilitation is what is needed. Our goal is to help with the medical expenses and keep the roof over their heads with the lights on while they grapple with this brain tumor and the road ahead of them. As an extraordinary husband, father, friend, brother and son, whose heart has always loved and given to others unconditionally, Dylan deserves us to do everything we can to make sure he has the best chance at making a full recovery and keep the new life he has sacrificed so much for in Washington with his family as intact as possible.
It was a small miracle that the men working with Dylan that day were able to keep him from falling, got him down those thirty feet of scaffolding and protected him during his seizure. Another small miracle is that Dylan was able to obtain a neurosurgeon that is remarkable in performing the type of brain surgery Dylan needs. Many of us have been recipients of one of Dylan’s shirts, as he has always, without reserve, given them off his back freely. By knowing Dylan for the past 20 years I have learned that he is a person who has always been the giver, the helper and the champion of others. Now, to be unexpectedly catapulted into the receiving end of assistance is a tremendous shock. We have immense hope as we now ask for people to help participate in creating a miracle for them that will allow Dylan the chance to meet this challenge with the same focused determination he puts into caring for his family, his running and all his endeavors. Our goal is to make sure he has the funds needed to receive the necessities required by this challenge: medications, surgery, post-surgical care, and a stable roof for him to recover under with his family. It is our greatest wish that this remarkable man successfully regain his health and that his journey towards recovery is eased and stabilized by any help we can provide.
Dylan, it is my goal and in all hopes and against any odds, that by helping you in this way you can focus on your new job of kicking some serious brain tumor ass while we help to keep you and you family’s heads above water. I have faith Dylan, that someday soon, you will make a full recovery and finally begin to move forward with your beloved family into the new life you all have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to create near the shores of the Puget Sound. All of our love, F
