Today is the day we begin kickin' cancer's butt!
 This is day 31 since his first surgery.  Dillon got 2 chemotherapy drugs this morning (vincristine, which he'll get once a week, and carboplatin, which he'll get every day), before his radiation treatment.  He did terrific, slept through most of the chemo stuff.  Then Dillon watched some YOUtube videos, and we laughed and laughed.  When it was time, we got a ride from security to the Huntsman Cancer Hospital for radiation therapy.  Dillon did great, and he was very brave.  They sedated him with anesthesia because today's first radiation treatment took an hour.  After today, his treatments should only take about 10-15 minutes.  Afterward, the security van picked us up, along with his nurse, Dave, and brought us back to Primary's.  Dillon ate some lunch, and got back to work with his therapists.  Day one of radiation down, 29 more to go.........

April 27

Well it has been 4 weeks..... Lots of frustration and improvement! The last two days have brought amazing progress to Dillons speech and movement of his right arm! The warm weather has been nice as we have been able to go outside for a little fresh air and sunshine. :) Very early Monday morning we begin our first stage of treatments. It will consist of chemo and then radiation, daily for 6 weeks. Then we will have a few weeks off. :) I am SOOOO PROUD of you Dllon keep up the good work!!! Love ya kid, you are my hero!!!!!

Pictures...

Here are a few pictures of Dillon from the last few weeks...

Doing physical therapy with Lisa his therapist...

He is doing AMAZING!!!

Taking a nap with Roxy at the trailer on Saturday :)

Hanging out with Ike in the Angel Garden at PCMC.

Birthday with the family at the park!

MRI results

The MRI this morning showed that Dillon has another small tumor in his brain (above his pituitary gland). The good news is we do not have to go back to surgery to biopsy that spot. Dillon's oncologist is very confident that it will respond to radiation, and it's small, so there is no need for more surgery at this time. Dill had a great morning, but a rough afternoon after his MRI. So he got in some good nap time today, and then he had dinner, and a nice hot shower, and he's off to dream land. Tomorrow and the rest of the week he has his days filled with PT, OT, music, and speech therapies. Next week we start kickin cancer's butt! Thank you everyone for your prayers.

Dillon's Birthday!

Today we celebrated Dill's 13th b-day! He got the day off from his therapies (only because it's Sunday). We took him to a park to enjoy the beautiful, warm day, where we had yummy lunch, gourmet cupcakes, and plenty of presents for him to open. Thanks to his many grandparents for helping make it happen, and for bringing good food! Dillon has received lots of birthday wishes from friends and family, and even from the hospital staff. We sincerely thank everyone for being so thoughtful, and helping make his birthday a little brighter.

Tomorrow he has an MRI, and some more hard work in therapies..........

April 21st

Today was a GREAT day. We got to take Dillon out of the hospital for the day. We went to McDonald's for lunch, got new Van's to kick butt in therapy with, and then Dill went to the trailer (we have our 5th wheel parked at the VA hospital to sleep in) and hung out with Preston,Ike and Spencer for the afternoon... Oh and his dogs! :) They had a great time together. Tomorrow is his 13th birthday, and we are looking forward to another GREAT day!

Thanks EMS friends!

WOW! We are all touched by the 95 (and counting) comments from his school. Keep em coming! It means a lot to Dillon and his family to see the love and support. Thank you all!

Dillon had another busy day in therapy, working hard. Lots of frustration and progress. We found out Dillon's spinal fluid has NO cancer cells. Hooray! However, the doctors may decide to take him back to surgery next week to biopsy another spot in his brain. Boo! We will know more after another MRI on Monday. Keep praying everyone!

April 19

After a busy morning in therapies, we took our second trip to the Huntsman yesterday.  Dillon did great and was able to get fitted for his radiation mask and get things done in preparation for his treatments which are scheduled to begin Monday April 30th.  He will have 6 weeks of radiation treatments.  Dillon is really working hard and kickin butt in all of his therapies and going the extra miles to get better quickly.  We are all SO PROUD of you Dilly!!!!!  He is speaking a few more words everyday, So get ready for "Dillon Stories."  Ang, Spencer and Ike brought our dogs to the hospital to see Dillon and it was a very calming and enjoyable visit for him.  Today Grandma Melle came down to spend the day with Dill and he had another day of kickin butt and takin names. Everyday is exciting to see the progress.  Way to go Bud....

Evanston Middle School

Today I had a very special request from the staff of EMS to write a post just for you to be able to send well wishes to Dillon. Thanks for all the love and support you have all shown for Dillon... he loves each and every one of you and misses being at school!

April 17

Yesterday Dillon had a spinal tap to test his cerebral spinal fluid, we wont know the results until Friday. Today we went to Radiation Oncology at the Huntsman Cancer Institute so they could make him a mask and do some scans to get ready for radiation treatment. It was very hard on Dillon to hold still enough, because it was uncomfortable and he was a little scared, so we are going to have to try again tomorrow. Tomorrow they will give him sedation to make it easier on him. Then they plan to start radiation treatments next week. We are in good hands. The doctors here work with cancer treatment centers all over the country to determine the best treatments for different cancers, and we are getting the latest and greatest treatments for Medulloblastoma.

Dillon is starting rehab (full-time) tomorrow, which doesn't change things much, just making him a rehab patient instead of a surgical patient. He is very busy with OT, PT, and Speech every day. He also has music therapy, and he sang along to "Red Solo Cup" yesterday (Toby Keith song). He is improving every day, but it's still pretty frustrating to him that he can't do all the normal things he used to do so easily. It's been really hard on all of us to see him struggle :-(

Ike and Spencer miss Dillon, being back in school. Tomorrow they have a half day, so Angie is bringing them both to hang out with their brother. It's so strange how quickly and drastically our lives have changed. We are so grateful (still!) to everyone who has helped. We couldn't get through this without good friends and family like you.

Sunday

Hard to believe Easter was a week ago. Dillon is doing great, and saying a few words here and there. He's walking all over and going up and down stairs. He still has a hard time seeing, and he probably wants to play X-box, instead he just listens while Ike and Preston play. Ike and Spencer have to go back to school tomorrow, after a week off for spring break. Brian and Ali are going to return to work a little this week. Brian and Angie got to take Dill to eat lunch at the Huntsman yesterday, which was a nice change, and yummy food. Thank you to everyone reading and sending good thoughts and prayers.

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th was a great day. Dillon woke up laughing and making us all laugh. He worked hard in his therapies, and was really good in speech. He even spit out a sentence of mumbo-jumbo, but he is trying to say something. He is saying some sounds now, which is very encouraging. He will keep working all weekend, and Monday he will move to a new room for rehab. That means he wont need as much medical care, just more therapy to re-learn how to talk and do normal things. Dillon has an appointment with radiation oncology Tuesday to "map" his brain and schedule radiation treatments. This has been a rough couple of weeks, and we are so thankful to everyone who has helped us. We really appreciate the visitors, and Dillon has enjoyed having people around.

April 11th

Today has been a good day for our Dilly boy.:) He got the drain removed from his head that was helping with the removal of fluid from his brain. He also had ALOT of physical therapy and occupational therapy. He did amazing! He went up and down 2 flights of stairs and he did some activities with a beach ball and his brother Ike. After therapy he wanted to go for a cruise around the hospital. Then it was time for ice cream! After a good dinner, a hot shower and a few giggles, he was ready for bed! So here's to a very restful night so he can kick butt in therapy again tomorrow! Go Dillon, we love you Superman!

April 9th

Another busy day for the superhero! Lots of therapy,naps and frustration. It is a real struggle not being able to talk and tell everyone what he wants...after dinner and hanging out with his favorite sister, Dillon was able to walk himself down and have a relaxing shower. After a few laughs he walked back to his room and had some more giggles and was ready for bed.. Good Day to you all and to all a good night!!!!

Easter

Its Easter and we would all prefer to be somewhere else, but we couldn't be in a better hospital. There was an Easter Egg hunt today for the kids, and Dillon wasn't up for it, but Ike gathered some eggs for him and Spencer, and himself. To everyone who has visited and sent cards and gifts, we are very thankful to you all. We have had visitors from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah and it has meant the world to us to have your support. We are truly grateful to everyone.

Dillon is doing ok, just continuing to heal from his surgeries. Tomorrow we start in with more physical, occupational, and speech therapy. We cant say thank you enough for everything!

Thank you!!!!!

Just want to say thank you for all the phone calls, texts, stop by and say hi's, and the shoulders to cry on and the ears just to listen!!! We have the very best family and friends that anyone could ever ask for.. We have had kids, meals, vehicles, picked up, delivered, taken home, ok too much to write!!!! Doctors, Nurses, Surgeons, Techs!! So to all of you peeps!!! THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!

Surgery

Dillon went in for his second surgery this morning. Dr. Kestle biopsied a secondary spot in his cerebellum, and it came back normal, meaning there was no cancer in this other spot. There is a third spot we are watching that was noticed on his MRI. During surgery, another surgeon implanted a porta-cath in Dillon's chest. This is a more permanent IV that will stay in place so he can have chemo, blood draws, and IV fluid without getting poked in the arms and hands. Dr. Bruggers will be Dillon's oncologist (cancer doctor). She will decide our next steps regarding treatment.

Meanwhile, Dillon's only concern is healing. He is going to be busy this next week with physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. He is frustrated that he cannot talk, but he will be talkin' our ears off in no time. We all had a very exhausting day. Thank you everyone for your cards, drawings, prayers, and kind words. We sincerely appreciate everyone's help.

Well, Dillon did not get to surgery today, because he somehow got a cookie into his belly, so they had to postpone surgery until tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is Good Friday, so it must be meant to be. He is very overwhelmed today and sad, but he is healing from his first surgery.

Ike and Spencer went back to school these past few days, and it's been good for them to take a break from the hospital scene and be with their friends. Preston had spring break this week, so he has spent a lot of time here with his little brother. Preston is also known as the "cookie monster" now. Mom, Dad, and Angie are also overwhelmed, and are so very appreciative of the support and love we have been shown. Keep the prayers coming.

April 4th 2012

Today has been a long rough day for Dillon. Lots of physical therapy and just plain feeling lousy! Tonight he is sleeping soundly... A good way to put a bad day to rest. Today we also learned what type of cancer he has. It is called Medullablastoma. Dillon will need radiation and chemotherapy to treat and destroy the cancer. He will be going in for another surgery tomorrow, we will update you afterward. Thank you for all of the love, prayers and support! The Melles

~Dillon's Journey...

After about 5 months of sickness, on March 29,2012 Dillon's health issues were finally diagnosed. Thanks to Dr. Brett Earl at Evanston Regional Hospital, a head CT was done on Dillon and a tumor was found in the back of his brain resting on his brainstem. Immediately we were transferred by ambulance to Primary Children's Medical Center (PCMC) in Salt Lake City. Dillon enjoyed the ride down with his dad and the Evanston EMT's and thought the ambulance was super cool! :)

After arriving at PCMC the Neurosurgeon, Dr. Kestle, met with us and told us that the tumor was about the size of 2 golf balls and needed to be removed. They had already scheduled Dill's surgery for the next day.

Friday afternoon at about 2:30 p.m. the surgery team came to get our brave Dillon to remove the tumor. He was so relieved that we had finally figured out what had been making him so sick! Surgery took nearly 8 hours, but when it was over, the Surgeon had successfully removed the big tumor from his brain.

Dillon was taken to ICU following his surgery, where he recovered until Sunday afternoon. By this time he had been progressing so well that they moved him from ICU to the Neurological Trauma Unit (NTU).
It was so nice to get him to his own room where he could rest and spend time with his family. Monday morning April 2nd, Dillon began physical therapy. He did so well, but it wore him out. He came back to his room and had a nice long nap! He is eating well and has a super big appetite! :) 

Today he has already done 1 session of physical therapy, where he got to play ball with Diva, 1 of the many therapy dogs that visit PCMC. He will have another trip to the gym this afternoon!   

We are still waiting to hear the results from his surgery. We know the tumor they removed is cancer, however we do not know the type yet. As soon as we know, we will find out what the next step to Dillon's recovery will be.

Thank you to everyone who has had Dillon in their prayers. Please continue to pray for him and support him in this journey. We will continue to update this blog as we learn more. Feel free to leave comments as we will pass them along to Dillon.

Sincerely,

The Melle's