Dj Christmas

One year ago a GoFundMe was started to help my sweet student, Dj Bizzell and his family overcome the effects of having their mother hospitalized/ put into a rehab and assisted living due to a diabetic coma. The people were overwhelmed and contributed everything from washing powder to monetary donations, to underwear. The irony is - this wasn’t the Bizzell family’s last battle dance with the devil. It had only just begun. Dj soon would have a story of his very own- Another punch in the family’s face. David Allen Bizzell Jr., Also known as “Dj” began feeling ill last May - specifically two weeks after his mother fell ill and into a diabetic coma. Me as his teacher at the time noticed him not being his normal rambunctious self. I started to see him sleep during class, not participate in recess, not eat very much, and the kicker - a low grade fever he just couldn’t seem to kick. The next clue, only a week after appearing to be sick- a large mass on his right side showed it’s presence. After visits to his local pediatrician and and a slightly abnormal blood screen, Dj was transported to local children’s hospital to be further examined. The verdict was in. Cancer. The “C” word. Now- here is the very overwhelming part. He has a very rare type. It’s a type of liver cancer that is called “undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma” (other wise known as UES) of the liver. “UES is a rare, highly malignant neoplasm of the liver that occurs predominantly in children, usually those 6–10 years old (1). However, UES does not occur exclusively in children; numerous cases have been reported in adults. Patients frequently present with abdominal pain, fever, and weight loss.” The battle as you can imagine to fight this thing had just begun. Our local children’s hospital wasn’t very familiar with this cancer, DJ eventually had to be transported to a teaching hospital two hours away. As you can imagine the : tubes, the blood work, the medicine, the pain. It had only just begun. Eventually Dj was able to undergo a surgery that took 55% of his liver to remove the cancerous threat- after the tumor was shrunk enough by chemo to operate. 5 rounds of chemo (for now) Multiple months in the hospital Rounds of radiation No school The list goes on and on. Here it is Christmas time, and the Bizzell family continues to struggle financially. I’ve seen dad work from dusk to dawn - and then still drive two hours to see DJ in the hospital. DJs angelic sister (stepping in for mom) at only sixteen years old is giving up her high school days to go to school online and help Care for Dj. This family continues to amaze me. If you have it in your heart to donate - you would make one happy little boy.