Team Dean

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving of 2020, three-year-old, Dean spent his day at daycare while his mother, Jessica and father, Brian both worked a full day. Jessica is a special education teacher and Brian is a professional in information technology.  When Jessica picked Dean up on her way home from work, Dean was tired, coughing and said he did not feel well. He has a history of asthma and over the past few month had a cough that just would not quit. That evening, after nebulizer treatments and calls to the doctor it was decided that Dean should go to the emergency room. As the family got into the car, Dean had a coughing fit that made it clear he was not getting air and they called 911. Dean was taken to the hospital where because of COVID19 only Jessica could go inside. This means that Jessica was alone when she received the news that an X-ray had shown much more than asthma as the culprit of Dean's condition. An exceptionally large mass was found in Dean's chest that was blocking most of his airway.  The family was transferred to Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia (CHOP) in the middle of the night where they would remain for the next 11 days. 

Dean was evaluated at CHOP and very quickly moved to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). More imaging was done, and steroids were started. Once the CT Scan was done the doctors were able to show Jessica and Brian the severity of Dean’s condition. The mass in his chest was enormous. It was causing pressure on his heart, stress on his lungs, and a seriously obstructed airway. Pathology showed that Dean had T-Cell lymphoblastic cancer. More testing would be needed to narrow down the type of cancer, but due to his blocked airway, Dean could not be sedated to get those tests. Steroids and chemotherapy treatment began very quickly to start to shrink the tumor and work to get the cancer in Dean’s body under control.

As of the writing of this Go Fund Me page Dean is looking at a minimum of two years of treatments (chemotherapy). It is highly likely that he will face many hospitalizations even if his journey goes as smoothly as possible. The family (even with “good” healthcare coverage) will be facing hundreds of thousands (or beyond) of dollars in medical bills. This Go Fund Me is the first for this family, but we suspect that additional fundraising may be needed as the months and years go on.

If you cannot give, we only ask that you keep Dean and his family in your thoughts and prayers. We also ask that you share with anyone who might be able to give a little. 

The writer of this is Jill McMahon. Hi. I am Dean’s Aunt and Jessica’s sister. I have quickly become the gatekeeper of all the outpouring of well wishes and offering for financial support. It has been an incredible thing to witness. The kind words and love shown to myself, Dean and his family has at this time has me overcome with emotions. Thank you everyone, from the bottom of my heart.

Dean is an incredible child. He is highly intelligent, full of energy and LOVE! He loves so big at such a young age. His cousin, family and friends are lucky to be the recipient of his love and his even bigger sense of humor. He has had the nurses and doctors smiling and laughing with “toot” jokes already.