Dawson's Leukemia/Lymphoma Fund

Dawson is 7 years old and the oldest of three children. On August 1, 2014 Dawson was diagnosed with a very high risk T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Stage 4 Lymphoma.

One night, Dawson was in our kitchen with his Dad and I. When he turned his neck, we began to notice that 3 lymph nodes were swollen, about the size of small grapes. Even though Dawson was not in pain and didn't have any other symptoms, we decided to call his pediatrician's office. I was consulted by a nurse that Dawson did not need to be seen tonight because his symptoms did not include fever.  The nurse scheduled an appointment for him to be seen by the doctor on Friday, August 1st. However, the following day I saw that the lymph nodes on the left side of his neck were also now swollen. Immediately, I took Dawson to the Urgent Care. From the Urgent Care we were sent to the Emergency Room. As they began taking Dawson's blood, he began to feel hot and thought he was going to be sick. At this time, his skin was beat red and Dawson looked incredibly weak. He began to vomit.  After x-rays, and a CT scan,  we were then transferred to Texas Children's Hospital Downtown. However the hospital was full and we were then taken to Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital. At this point, Dawson was unable to to lie flat due to tumor in his chest. The tumor was almost completely blocking his airway.

An average normal range of white blood count is between 4,500 and 10,000 white blood cells per microlite. Within 24 hours, Dawson's white blood cell count skyrocketed from 38,000 to 80,000. A hematologist from MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospital requested we move to their hospital ASAP. She informed me that Dawson's condition was very high risk. After being transported to MD Anderson, Dawson began treatment immediately. He has several lumbar punctures each week and we visit the clinic 2-3 times a week. Due to the extensive chemotherapy Dawson has been recieving, we are always in and out of the hospital. He suffers from nausea, vomiting, fevers, and pancreatitis because of the severity of the chemotherapy.

Dawson will continue treatment until 2018.

This page was started to raise money to help Dawson and his family with medical bills/expenses and day to day needs. Thank you so much for taking the time to be there for us. Anything and everything is greatly appreciated.