Dale Worthington is a loving husband of 31 years to his wife Susan, father of ten children, three of which still live at home, and grandfather of 3 grandchildren. He works as a director at a local hospital, and goes home at night to his family on their small country farm. He was also part of his family’s bluegrass band The Worthing10s which they formed in 2009. Dale, a Baptist preacher, and his family have been able to share God's word to thousands of people. He is very passionate about the ministry and has made such a difference in the lives of many.

However, Dale’s health started to decline and in 2014 when he was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndrome, which is a type of blood cancer affecting his red blood cells. Three years later his condition evolved into Myelofibrosis, which is an extremely rare type of bone marrow cancer. Myelofibrosis causes extensive scarring in the bone marrow, which disrupts the body's normal production of blood cells. In Dale’s case, the red blood cells are impacted the most. They don't fully mature, and they die off quickly leading to anemia. The condition also causes the spleen to enlarge because it cannot filter out the immature red blood cells like it is supposed to due to the increased volume. Dale also has Hemochromatosis causing his immature red blood cells to have an overabundance of iron. A result of this can be liver damage, high blood pressure, abdominal pain, and back pain.

Over two years ago, Dale started receiving red blood cell transfusions which consisted of 2 units every 12-14 days. However, in recent months, he has been in need of more frequent transfusions (every 7-10 days) and his body has not been responding as well as hoped. The doctors knew that his body would not be able to handle the large amounts of transfusions and medications forever. The only remaining option is a bone marrow transplant. However, a bone marrow transplant is very hard on the body and a very risky procedure for a patient to undergo due to the 50% mortality rate. Additionally, months of chemo treatments are required prior to the transplant.  These treatments and the following transplant can lead to hospitalization and months to even years of recovery. The transplant is a very costly procedure, and for many people, it is not an option due to the risk involved. Many complications can arise from this complex transplant, but for Dale it may be the only possible cure.

In June 2021, Dale's path for the transplant began. It started with a chemo regimen to start killing off the fibrosis in his bone marrow. However, in late June, the chemo treatments began affecting all of his blood cells. His red blood cells dropped to critical levels, as well as his white blood cells and platelets, making his immune system weak and susceptible to sickness.

On July 1, 2021, he woke up with a temperature and a worsening cough, and was admitted to Sitemen Cancer Center for a neutropenic fever, and had uncovered a case of pneumonia while he was there. After two weeks of heavy antibiotics and testing, they are still unsure of the cause of the pneumonia. Every day since then, there has been a battle to heal his lungs. He has been on oxygen as high as 8L, and they are slowly trying to reduce the amount of oxygen he is taking as his body is trying to respond to the medication. Additionally, they monitor his blood counts daily, and he has been receiving red blood cell and platelet transfusions as needed.

As of this posting, Dale is still at the Siteman Cancer Center undergoing tests for infections causing the pneumonia. Whether or not he can resume chemo treatment is unknown at this time.  This is just the tip of the iceberg, the family still has over three months before Dale is scheduled for his transplant. His levels are still critical, and the chances of this repeating with each chemo treatment is high, and currently, those treatments are on hold until the issues with his pneumonia is resolved.

Due to the unexpected turn of events of being hospitalized (for over three weeks at the time of this post), short-term disability has been implemented at his place of work, with long-term hopefully to follow. In addition to this, they don't know what other medical expenses or other costs the family will incur. There are many unknowns and uncertainties, but the Lord has gotten them this far, and he will continue to do what he knows is best for them.

His wife, Susan, is juggling her duties as a mother and wife while Dale is being cared for at the cancer center. She drives an hour and a half to and from the hospital to care for both Dale and the children living at home.  Her older children who do not live at home are doing their best to make her job as stress-free as possible.

Many questions concerning donations and ways to help the family have been brought up, so it was decided to build this fundraiser as a way for people to help the Worthington family through this trying time. They are not out of the woods by any means, and they have a long road ahead of them. Any donation given, even the smallest amount, will help them tremendously through the next few months and years. Please keep the Worthington family in your prayers. This is a very close knit family that the Lord has brought together for better or worse.  

Thank you in advance for anything you are able to give!

Sincerely,

The family of Dale Worthington

For more information about the Worthington family and The Worthing10s ministry, please visit:

www.theworthing10s.com