Just over a month ago, four-year-old Dexter Druar was diagnosed with a rare type of leukemia.
Dexter’s aunt Toni DuBois said when he was diagnosed with biphenotypic leukemia on Aug. 25 of this year — a combination of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) — 90 per cent of his bone marrow was cancerous.
“They started with three different chemos all at once. He’s now down to one,” said DuBois. “But yeah, he’s doing OK, health-wise. He’s a fighter.”
Friday was Dexter’s 28th day of his first treatment spent in quarantine because it is chemotherapy. DuBois said her brother Troy — Dexter’s father - has not been working so he can be with his son during the treatment. Dexter is undergoing treatment at the University of Alberta, which DuBois said was rated the second best-rated place to treat cancer in Canada. Dexter’s father, originally from Moose Jaw, is living in the Saskatchewan side of Lloydminster.
“Unfortunately life doesn’t stop when you need it to,” said DuBois. “The bills keep coming. The payments keep coming out. The last thing he needs is to be able to bring his boy home and then he doesn’t have a home to bring him to.”
To help raise funds to alleviate medical expenses and keep the family together, a trust fund will be opened for any donations on Thursday at the Bank of Montreal in the name of Troy and Dexter Druar. DuBois also put on a fundraiser on Friday night at Chillers. She said the family appreciates the support the family has received.
For more information, see an upcoming edition of the Times-Herald.
