HELP DARRYL FIGHT METASTATIC CANCER
Donation protected
Correction: Ethel is the organizer.
Barbara is handling funds.
Darryl was born with bilateral retinal blastoma (retinal cancer in both eyes) and by 18 months of age, both eyes had been removed to save his life. In 2021, he developed a bump on his eyelid. By April 2022, he had undergone surgery for eye cancer again and the doctors had to perform reconstructive surgery on his eye socket and sinus cavity. He had radiation treatment to aid in the destruction of cancer cells. In April 2023, a PET scan revealed Darryl now has Stage 4 Metastatic Cancer. Because he lives alone in a 2nd floor apartment and because of severe pain in his hips and legs. We need to move him to a 1st floor Senior apartment complex close to the hospital where he receives his chemotherapy treatments and doctor’s care. He will also need a hide-a-bed so that someone can stay with him whenever he needs extra help. When he was in 3rd grade, Darryl’s parents bought a piano and soon after, the TV was removed from the living room. At age 9, all of his practice resulted in his winning a talent show for playing “What I Say” by Ray Charles. Darryl taught himself to play all of Stevie Wonder’s songs on the piano after hearing his older brother, Rick, play the albums over and over. Darryl also learned to play the trumpet and the accordion. Joe, his second brother, also played trumpet in a different middle school band. Together they learned to play Kenny G songs and the theme from Rocky. They were really good too! He learned to read Braille music to keep up with band lessons on the trumpet; otherwise, he played everything else by ear. While taking private Taekwondo lessons at home with his brothers, he learned how to break boards. To this day, he still practices some of the exercises he learned from those classes. Darryl graduated from San Bernardino High School with a partial scholarship in music. He’s played for weddings, funerals, performers and he has played accompaniment in small jazz, country, gospel, Latin and soul bands throughout the years. He still plays with various bands and is his church’s Music Director. Darryl is funny, flirty, philosophical and a bit of a ham. He is fascinated by other cultures and loves meeting people from different backgrounds. He loves foreign languages and knows how to speak a (very) little bit of Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, French and Tagalog. While living in Sacramento, California, Darryl fell upon hard times and was forced to store his belongings and return to Southern California. He stayed with family while he got back on his feet. Our primary goal is to raise money for Darryl’s care and to move him to a more accommodating location while he is going through his various cancer treatments. We also need to help him close his storage and pay for the Uhaul to bring his belongings home from Sacramento. The family, up until now. has been paying out of pocket for his caregivers, household needs, and ongoing related assistance but it is not enough. Meanwhile, we have applied for whatever other resources might be available. Darryl is our love and we are trying to make this time of his life as stress free as possible while he concentrates on keeping his immunity and his mind strong. Will you please help us to collect the funds needed to help Darryl to defeat this round of cancer? Please help. We would appreciate ANYTHING you can contribute.
Barbara is handling funds.
Darryl was born with bilateral retinal blastoma (retinal cancer in both eyes) and by 18 months of age, both eyes had been removed to save his life. In 2021, he developed a bump on his eyelid. By April 2022, he had undergone surgery for eye cancer again and the doctors had to perform reconstructive surgery on his eye socket and sinus cavity. He had radiation treatment to aid in the destruction of cancer cells. In April 2023, a PET scan revealed Darryl now has Stage 4 Metastatic Cancer. Because he lives alone in a 2nd floor apartment and because of severe pain in his hips and legs. We need to move him to a 1st floor Senior apartment complex close to the hospital where he receives his chemotherapy treatments and doctor’s care. He will also need a hide-a-bed so that someone can stay with him whenever he needs extra help. When he was in 3rd grade, Darryl’s parents bought a piano and soon after, the TV was removed from the living room. At age 9, all of his practice resulted in his winning a talent show for playing “What I Say” by Ray Charles. Darryl taught himself to play all of Stevie Wonder’s songs on the piano after hearing his older brother, Rick, play the albums over and over. Darryl also learned to play the trumpet and the accordion. Joe, his second brother, also played trumpet in a different middle school band. Together they learned to play Kenny G songs and the theme from Rocky. They were really good too! He learned to read Braille music to keep up with band lessons on the trumpet; otherwise, he played everything else by ear. While taking private Taekwondo lessons at home with his brothers, he learned how to break boards. To this day, he still practices some of the exercises he learned from those classes. Darryl graduated from San Bernardino High School with a partial scholarship in music. He’s played for weddings, funerals, performers and he has played accompaniment in small jazz, country, gospel, Latin and soul bands throughout the years. He still plays with various bands and is his church’s Music Director. Darryl is funny, flirty, philosophical and a bit of a ham. He is fascinated by other cultures and loves meeting people from different backgrounds. He loves foreign languages and knows how to speak a (very) little bit of Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, French and Tagalog. While living in Sacramento, California, Darryl fell upon hard times and was forced to store his belongings and return to Southern California. He stayed with family while he got back on his feet. Our primary goal is to raise money for Darryl’s care and to move him to a more accommodating location while he is going through his various cancer treatments. We also need to help him close his storage and pay for the Uhaul to bring his belongings home from Sacramento. The family, up until now. has been paying out of pocket for his caregivers, household needs, and ongoing related assistance but it is not enough. Meanwhile, we have applied for whatever other resources might be available. Darryl is our love and we are trying to make this time of his life as stress free as possible while he concentrates on keeping his immunity and his mind strong. Will you please help us to collect the funds needed to help Darryl to defeat this round of cancer? Please help. We would appreciate ANYTHING you can contribute.
Organizer and beneficiary
Ethel Dawes
Organizer
San Bernardino, CA
BARBARA BATISTE
Beneficiary