Sean Patrick Dixon

Our son Sean Patrick was born on July 6, 2001, and from that day forward we were the happiest couple on earth to blessed with such a treasure. Sean Patrick has always had a smile that could light up a room. His witty personality splays his confidence in all he sets out to do. When we were told in October 2015 that our only child had cancer, our world crumbled. We agreed to take on this challenge as a family, as we would have taken on any challenge, and we knew this would be our toughest. But never did we imagine that our son would need nearly 100 blood transfusions and some 45 weeks of intense chemotherapy that required weekly stays at Memorial Sloan Kettering; that after a leg amputation he would suffer an infection in the sutures, a collapsed lung, and still more obstacles in his fight.

Sean Patrick is currently a 15-year old sophomore at Patchogue-Medford High School. He is an amazing young man who is looked up to by many of his peers. Sean is an excellent student and has a passion for sports. He has played several lacrosse teams since he was in the second grade and has enjoyed every minute of it. He was proud to be part of his town and school league, along with his travel teams, Legacy Lacrosse and Mama’s Boyz Lacrosse. He learned so much from being a part of these beautiful organizations. 

While playing lacrosse late in July 2015, just after his fourteenth birthday, Sean broke one of his femurs during a on-contact play. This injury lead to a diagnosis of osteosarcoma, an aggressive and rare form of bone cancer. Sean began chemo right away, but because of severe internal bleeding from the tumor breaking up, the doctors decided to amputate his leg to increase his chances for survival. He continued the chemo protocol for several more weeks only to find that the cancer had metastasized to his lungs. Sean then had his lungs. In all, doctors removed 37 tumors from his right lung and 42 from his left. After several chemo adjustments, Sean’s condition stabilized.

It was then in November 2016, the tumors were back, six of them. We were told by the doctors that one was very large, and that it was right up against Sean’s pulmonary artery. One doctor said with all seriousness, “We need a miracle, or Se your son is not going to make it.” This was not an option. Sean was put on another intense chemo protocol for a month, but the results were not good. In December we were forced to face what we were told was the last resort et medicine could offer: two different medications to try to stop the tumors from growing.

On February 8 of this year, Sean’s scans showed that the tumors had begun to shrink significantly. The doctors will keep Sean on this protocol to continue shrinking the tumors before they try more surgeries to save more lung tissue. As of now, we are on the right track, but we are nowhere close to being out of the woods. We extend our deepest gratitude to all who have helped support us through love, prayers and donations. We cannot adequately express how much your faith and care has helped us to persevere throughout this difficult and emotional roller coaster ride with our beloved and beautiful Sean Patrick Dixon.

Sean sadly passed away in October of 2017.