- Daniel
Daniel's Page
Lookin' good!
 In 2004 , my then-girlfriend (now wife) Bettina learned that her second cousin had leukemia. Daniel lives in Holland and at the time was only three years old, but a number of us have felt concerned about his welfare and sent our wishes and prayers to him. A number of fine folks contributed art and toys for him, and there were a few shiny heads around as we shaved 'em to show support for Daniel. Although his bone marrow treatment didn't work as planned, it looks like it did eventually work out, and the result is the smiling, spiky-haired kid seen at the top of this page. In the treatment he went through, his body's bone marrow was supposed to have been entirely cleaned out before the new transplanted bone marrow took over, but early tests showed that he had indications of both marrow types. Fortunately, the transplant took hold, and Daniel is doing very well. During his battle against leukemia, at least one high school class adopted him (thanks, David and the students at Little Axe High School in Oklahoma!) and he received cards, stuffed critters and drawings from all over the country. Many thanks to the Marines and family members at Sgt Grit's for their help. Updates are listed below, with the newest info at the top |
Dec 6 - Let's see - I have been negligent about keeping this updated, but Daniel suffered some setbacks through November. He was back in the hospital for quite a bit of the month with infections, most likely picked up at the hospital itself.
However, he's doing better now, and turned four on December 4. Best of all, he's still improving, which is all we can ask for.
For his birthday, Daniel sure ended up with a full hospital room. Dave got the Oklahoma Sooners football coach to sign a football for his birthday. As you can see below, he also got quite a load of Spongebob toys and clothes from his new "Aunt" Vicki. Many thanks go to her for her generosity.
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Oct 24 - Bad news folks...Daniel had to go back to the hospital after he'd been home for a few weeks. He kept vomiting and his feeding tube wouldn't stay in; he was also starting to get bloated, and the nurses said that was probably because of an allergic reaction to something. With the chemo and then the radiation and transplant his immune system is pretty much non-existent.
He's FUZZY!!!
Okay, I had to add that great picture - Daniel is not only doing well, but he's actually regrowing hair! It really looks like he is near the turning point now, and although he had a small "tummy ache" the other day he still has a great outlook; on the phone with his aunt a few days ago he told her that he was, "still ill but would be all better the day after tomorrow!"
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Daniel had his bone marrow transplant last week, and is doing great! As before, he is tearing around in his room, full of energy. It's great to hear that he has been able to recover so well each time, and that he's growing hair! Because part of the process kills all of his own immune system in order to keep his body from fighting the marrow transplant, he is in a different room now and under some very strict isolation procedures. <-- That's all we know about the donor. The marrow may be from someone in England; so to whoever it was, Daniel, his family and a whole lot of friends around the world thank you! |
| Aug 17 - Daniel's going to grow hair again! It looks like he should receive a bone marrow transplant around the 15th or 16th of September, which means no more chemo treatments. I guess there were some problems getting the first donor though so there was a delay in the schedule. I'm sure y'alls prayers helped, as the hospital found not one, but three potential donors for Daniel. He will be at home until the transplant, and has been enjoying the outpouring of support from complete strangers - he loves the postcards, drawings, presents and even a few bald heads! This latest picture is of Daniel at home a few weeks ago; I've got to admire the trouble brewing behind those blue eyes of his...he's got a great spirit! |  |
Aug 4 - Daniel had another bone marrow test the other day, and they confirmed that he is in definitely in remission. He has three compatible donors lined up, with a transplant scheduled for late August. Thanks to everyone for the prayers, cards and gifts they've been sending - Daniel loves getting them and gets excited when the mailman shows up with another package. Apparently the other day the mailman showed up with a box, but it was for the neighbors who were on vacation. Daniel was irked that he couldn't open that one along with the others 
However it appears he is still going to have to go through radiation treatment, between that and the transplant he is going to have some restrictions over the next several months. From the time of his chemo until three months after the transplant, contact is restricted to no more than two people in the same room at a time. Children under 12 won't be allowed (no word on whether that includes his brother or not) and visitors not only have to wear clean-clean clothes, they also need to disinfect twice before contact. Once he gets home, the house will have to be squeaky clean, with no flowers for three months as well.
Enough of the bad news though; I'd like to show y'all some more recent pictures but that will have to wait. Daniel was in for chemo in June for 5 days and caused quite a bit of trouble! (There are a few folks that will say he sounds like a little Jarhead in training after this). this time around, he stayed in a ward with other children and had a great time playing with them...until he was free of all the tubes. Then the fun started! As an example, one day when Nienke was giving Jasper a bath, Daniel found a 10 cc syringe (without needle of course!) lying around and he filled it with water. He went out to the hallway and squirted water on everybody that passed! Reports are that a lot of people ended up with wet butts from that episode.
The next day he couldn't find a syringe but was running in the hallway and ended up in the nurses post. There he found a bottle of handcream...so he took that and squirted cream everywhere while running around again...so when Nienke came the whole hallway was covered with blobs of handcream! 
Lest we think that he's just a mischief-maker though, Daniel also paid attention to the other kids who were there. All the isolation rooms have an intercom on the outside so the doors don't have to be opened all the time when a kid rings a nurse. Daniel went past all rooms, took the phones and had a little chat with all the kids in isolation...
June 26 - Daniel is coming home today! His bloodcount is still quite low but he is physically very fit and so the oncologist decided that it is a lot healthier for Daniel to be home, and enjoy a bit of the summer!
He can stay home for at least a week, he has to return to the out-patients clinic next week for another blood test but that is all.
Usually after each 'dip' Daniel also got a bonemarrow test but since he is in remission now this test won't be repeated until a donor is found. That is very good news too because for the test he always got a certain sedative called Dormicum that has a very nasty effect on him: when the sedative effect wore off, he got quite agressive and every time he got this medicine the effect grew worse. The oncologist promised that next time he will get Dormicum intravenously, that will help diminish this side effect.
June 4 - We learned Friday that Daniel's cancer is in remission! He's not out of the woods yet, but at least his latest bone marrow test came back with only 2% 'bad' cells! He starts his third round of chemotherapy on Monday 7 June, but if a compatible donor can be found, he may have a marrow transplant instead of a fourth round.
Daniel and his little brother Jasper
| Daniel went into the hospital in early April, and was being fed through a nose catheter - he calls it his "hungry nose." Thanks! |
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Because of the chemo, Daniel lost his hair in mid-April. He had been told it would happen, and when it finally did he told his Mom: "Mama, you need to lose your hair now, too". She explained to him that he was losing it because of the sickness, but it would grow back later. Daniel told her "Then you need to get sick too. Let's be sick and bald together". |
| As I said, Daniel was adopted by the Marines on Sgt Grit's, and one of the first packages to arrive was this bear from Marine Tom M and his mom. The bear is named Hero, and the instructions are to hug him three times every day. From what I've heard, he takes those instructions to heart and makes sure to get his hugs in daily. |  |
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| Daniel was allowed back home again for a brief visit after his first chemo treatment. This is his 'girlfriend' Maira...he calls her his fiancee. Sounds like a Marine in the making there! |  |
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Daniel and his mom near the end of his second round of chemo |
The Bald Battalion
| When Daniel went back for his second round of chemo, he wasn't doing quite as well the first few days. Several of us had already discussed this next step, and after talking it over with my kids I handed them the clippers. Here's me while my son was busy shearing off quite a bit of the overgrowth. The weird part is that the grey hairs showed up pre-shave but weren't there in the piles on the floor. I figure my hair is (probably) going to grow back, and since Daniel's going through a rough treatment, I hope that anything I can do to help him smile even for a few minutes will help. |
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This prompted a rash of shavings across the United States:
| TomB from Lauderdale, Pennsylvania. Tom's daughter Emily has been sending pictures and saying prayers for Daniel almost from Day One after hearing about him. |  |
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David from Oklahoma City, OK. Dave wasn't able to become a Marine because of an injury, but he is one of our greatest supporters. He is a history teacher and makes sure that his students at Little Axe High School learn in his own way instead of just dry, liberal textbook teaching. In recognition of his efforts in molding a new generation of citizens, the Oklahoma City Marine Recruiting Station named Dave an "Honorary Recruiter" |
| Chris from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Calls Daniel the 'littlest warrior' for battling his cancer so bravely. |   |
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Ross Moyer; Marine and Jeeper read about Daniel and chromed his dome to support Daniel and join the Bald Battalion. Thanks Ross! |
| Tiff from Centennial, CO; good friend and Jeeper. Family and friends (including me) wouldn't let her go bald, but she cut it mighty short anyway. Thanks! |  |