Dillon has friends in his battle with
By Stacey Creasy
BOURBON � Mark and Brooke Greene believe, with God�s healing touch along with a little help from their friends, they can band together and defeat the cancer that has attacked their son Dillon.
Dillon is seven years old. He has been diagnosed with meddulloblastoma.
�It�s brain cancer,� said Rebecca Wampler, one of Dillon�s biggest allies. She is also his teacher at First Step Daycare in Bourbon.
The cancer affects Dillon�s coordination, including his vision and speech.
Prior to this summer, Dillon was the type of happy-go-lucky, busy boy who was on the go all the time; the type of energetic 7-year-old you find in every small town in every rural county across America.
Dillon is a second-grader at Triton Elementary
Mark said, during the summer, Dillon had headaches from time to time, but nothing out of the ordinary. His parents did not become suspicious or concerned until they ap-proached the beginning of the school year.
�He had headaches and sometimes threw up,� Wampler said. �But he was very nervous about school, so we thought that was the problem.�
When Wampler sat Dillon down to find out why he was so nervous about school he told her; �I�m not going to pass. I see two of everything.�
Dillon�s parents took their son to an optometrist who noticed Dillon had a swollen optic nerve. He was then taken to a hospital in Elkhart and given an MRI.
That is when they discovered a mass on Dillon�s brain.
Dillon�s doctors and his family did not waste any time attacking the cancer. He was driven via ambulance from Elkhart to Riley�s Children Hospital in Indianpolis the next day and underwent surgery the day after that.
His surgery was on Sept. 9. Since then, the community has rallied behind Dillon and his family.
�They removed as much of it as they can without hurting him,� Mark said Sunday. �We will get the rest with radiation and chemotherapy. We�re going to beat this.�
Mark has insurance through his place of employment but there will be expenses and major medical expenses the insurance will not cover.
Fund raisers have taken place where Mark and Brooke work. There are also donation cans all over Bourbon. Anyone can give to help Dillon and his family.
�We�re also having a candle sale and hope to have a Port-a-Pit chicken fund raiser on October 19,� Wampler said.
They are also hoping to organize some fund-raisers in Nap-panee since Mark works there.
A trust fund has also been established at the First State Bank in Bourbon. Donations can be sent to P.O. Box 2, Bourbon, In. 46504.
Right now Wampler said Dillon is having trouble walking and speaking, but with continued treatment, she hopes to see him in the classroom soon and at her daycare.
Dillon�s parents know their son has the spirit and they have the faith to see him through this trying time.
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