10-29-00
Dear Family and Friends:
On September 29, 2000, Dalton was diagnosed to have a pineoblastoma brain tumor. On October 3, he had
surgery to remove the tumor, but a blood artery was nicked during surgery and only about one third of the
tumor was removed - this was devastating news.
However, his recovery was very good and further MRI's revealed
no other tumors were present on his spine and the surgeon had removed more of the tumor than first
perceived.
Everything continued to go well and Dalton underwent a second surgery on Friday to put in a permanent
internal shunt to relieve pressure caused by fluids. The external shunt and other tubes were removed and
Dalton was put in a private room on Saturday & then went home on Sunday, October 8.
Dr. Roger Packer, Oncologist, met with Joe and I and discussed his plan for a very aggressive chemotherapy
program that will last six to eight months. On
Thursday, October 12, Dalton returned to Children's Hospital in Washington, D.C. to undergo testing to
determine his tolerance for the chemotherapy chemicals. These tests were fine, but will be repeated before
every cycle, and Dalton started his first chemotherapy treatment on Monday, October 16. Dalton
remained strong through the first round of
chemotherapy and went home on Thursday. His next chemotherapy treatment will begin on Monday, November
13. On Monday October 30, Dalton will have another surgical procedure called a Peripheral Stem Cell
Harvest. He will have his blood dialized and have stem cell (immature white blood cells) extracted and
frozen. During the last three months of his
chemotherapy he will have these returned to him. This procedure will help him withstand higher doses of
chemotherapy during that time.
We thank you for your prayers and thoughts during these trying times and ask you to continue to remember
Dalton as he undergoes this very important phase of his recovery.
Love,
Jennifer