Friday, June 12, 2009

Tribute to Dallas

Many of you have asked for a copy of the slide show that was shown at Dallas' visitation and funeral. Here you go..............

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Song for Dallas
Music and lyrics: David DuBose


Verse 1
Momma told me today that you don’t always have to be so tough
And she was right, so I held on tight, sat down and cried
‘Cause you were always tougher than I was
And I wasn’t even close to second place
So I can’t help but feel sorry for you (when you got no more time to waste) x2

Chorus 1
You say your destiny, with a smile upon your face
And I haven’t heard you cry, in at least a thousand days
But you know, as well as I do
That it wasn’t fair to you
That it wasn’t fair to you

Verse 2
And I realized today that you were always trying to protect me
Hiding your pain inside, and I was always blind, to find out why
‘Cause you were always a better man than I was
And I wasn’t even close to second place
So I can’t understand why they’re taking such a man (when he’s got so much life to grace) x2

Chorus 2
And you say your destiny, with a smile upon your face
And you never questioned why, I never once heard you complain
But you know, as well as I do
That it wasn’t fair to you
That it wasn’t fair to you
That it wasn’t fair to you
That it wasn’t fair to you
That it wasn’t fair to you

Song for Dallas - David DuBose
(Click the link above to listen)
Safely Home

I am home in Heaven, dear ones;
Oh, so happy and so bright!
There is perfect joy and beauty
In this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief is over.
Every restless tossing passed;
I am now at peace forever,
Safely home in Heaven at last.

Did you wonder how I so calmly
Trod the valley of the shade?
Oh! but Jesus' love illumined
Every dark and fearful glade.

And He came Himself to meet me
In that ways so hard to tread;
and with Jesus' arm to lean on,
Could I have one doubt or dread?

Then you must not grieve so sorely,
For I love you dearly still:
Try to look beyond earth's shadows,
Pray to trust our Father's Will.

There is work still waiting for you,
So you must not idly stand;
Do it now, while life remaineth-
You shall rest in Jesus' land.

When that work is all completed,
He will gently call you Home;
Oh, the rapture of that meeting,
Oh, the joy to see you come!

Monday, April 27, 2009

David's 21st Birthday Party & Candle Lighting Tribute to Dallas
Because You Only Turn 21 Once!

Host: Larry and Shel DuBose

Start Time: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 7:00pm

End Time: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 12:00am

Location: 1753 Copperfiled Circle, Tallahassee, FL

Phone: 8502944894

Email: sldubose@aol.com

So we'll be sure and have enough burgers and dogs, please RSVP here or to sldubose@aol.com by noon on Tuesday, 4/28.

-Shel

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Celebration

I just wanted to thank everyone for all of their amazing support. It means so much to our family to see how loved and respected Dallas IS among so many. Although this is a hard road to travel for us all we are comforted by your continued thoughts and prayers. Dallas was an amazing brother to me and David and the least we can do to repay that honor is to pay tribute to him in all that we do.

In celebration of Dallas and David's birth and lives we would like to invite friends to our house at 1753 Copperfield Circle this Tuesday, April 28th at 7 PM for their 21st birthday. A cookout followed by a candle lighting and beer pong are on the agenda. We hope to see you all there.

And although Dallas is gone from us now, I hope you all realize that he did in fact beat Timmy. Timmy after all only gave him 3 months to a year to live in 2006. Dallas fought valiantly for nearly 3 years.

-Jessie

Wednesday, April 15, 2009


Lawrence "Dallas" DuBose

Lawrence "Dallas" DuBose, 20, died at home Monday, April 13, 2009, of a brain tumor. He was surrounded by his family and was loved by many. The service will be at 1 p.m. EDT Friday, April 17, 2009, at Bradfordville Baptist Church. The family will receive friends from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, April 16, at Bradfordville Baptist Church. Memorial contributions may be made to The University of Florida Foundation, Brain Tumor Program, P.O. Box 100296 Gainesville, FL 32610. Dallas graduated from Chiles High School and attended TCC. He was employed by Publix. Survivors include his parents, Larry and Shel DuBose of Tallahassee; his twin brother, David DuBose of Tallahassee; one sister, Jessie DuBose of Washington D.C.; his maternal grandparents, Charles and Jane Ault of Tavares; and numerous other family members. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, John and Molly DuBose. Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2193) is handling arrangements.

http://www.legacy.com/tallahassee/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=126233238

The website for the Brain Tumor Program is:

http://www.peds.ufl.edu/braintumorprogram/donations.asp

Monday, April 13, 2009

Lawrence "Dallas" DuBose 4/28/88-4/13/09

Dallas passed away at 4:58 this afternoon, surrounded by his family. He suffers no more and is in the loving arms of God.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

April 8th Update

Dallas' condition has continued to decline as expected. He received his last steroid dose Sunday evening. And the anti-seizure medicine we started him on last week was switched from capsules to IV Monday afternoon. He's sleeping peacefully most of the time with a few restless moments here and there. Swallowing has become very difficult and he hasn't had anything to eat, nor has he wanted anything, in several days. We are able to get a few droppers of water or apple juice down him a couple of times a day. Most importantly, he's not in any pain. He said his head hurt a little bit yesterday morning and I gave him a small dose of morphine. He hasn't had a headache since but we have both liquid morphine and IV on hand if needed.

The outpouring of love and support has been simply amazing. So much food, sodas, paper products, etc has poured in that we are now storing some items at several neighbors. Dallas is so loved and our family is so very blessed. Thank you all.

Until Monday, a steady stream of kids made daily visits. Things have slowed a bit now, as we have become more selfish of Dallas' time. I also have to share with you that Dallas' twin brother, David, has been incredible....seldom leaving Dallas' side. He lovingly cares for him....lifting him, repositioning him, and joking with him. Dallas' older sister Jessie has also been a steady source of strength and support for him.....also lovingly caring for him, sitting by his side and making sure his favorite music is always playing softly in the background. Through it all, Dallas, as usual, takes it all in stride.....not one complaint has been uttered. What a remarkable young man he is.....how courageous and brave. He is the epitome of grace.

Shel

Saturday, April 4, 2009

In Good Company

Dallas' condition has been fairly stable since our last post. A hospital bed was delivered Tuesday afternoon so he now has the best seat in the house, right in front of the TV allowing for endless Cash Cab, King of Queens and Sports Center viewing. He also seems to think the bed's controls are a toy as he likes to trick us on which position he's putting it in and to test how high it will raise. This just proves how strong Dallas is and how resilient his spirit is. No one is safe from his signature barbing.

Numerous friends have been in and out throughout the week and the last of the family from Orlando arrives today. Dallas' friends are amazingly supportive and he perks up everytime they visit. The outpouring of love and support is truly a sight to see. We've had so much food and supplies donated that we've run out of places to store it all. Luckily we have understanding neighbors with extra fridge space.

Thank you as always for the unwaivering support and prayers.

-J

Monday, March 30, 2009

Visits

Dallas' condition has declined dramatically since Friday. We left Tallahassee Friday afternoon for our grandparents' house in Tavares where we had planned a family gathering on the lake. Dallas was able to walk Friday with assistance, but by Saturday morning he was in a wheel chair. We've stopped all chemo and his doctor has made the referral to Big Bend Hospice. We stopped at Shands on our way home so Dallas could see his doctor and returned to Tallahassee Monday night.

We are so grateful to everyone for all of their support, thoughts and prayers. But most of all we're so grateful that Dallas has had such wonderful people in his life.


** A special note to all of Dallas' friends. Please come and see him whenever you can.....you're always welcome...day or night. **

-J & S

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Defeat of the Platelets

Just as we always knew he would, Dallas definitely stuck it to those stubborn platelets. They were at 271,000 today! He had his weekly trip to Shands this morning which confirmed that his platelet level was still on the rise. He hasn't had a nose bleed in over four days!

Dr. Smith decided that since the platelets were so high he had the green light to begin taking Rapamycin along with the Tarceva he takes daily now. Both are oral chemo treatments which we're hopeful will slow Timmy down.

The numbness in his left side continues as does his neverending appetite, as demonstrated Saturday night during a BBQ with all his friends at the house. We had a nice turn out with about 20 or so people gathered around to eat burgers and play a little Beer Pong. Sunday included boating down at St. Marks.

Dallas is staying in Gainesville tonight to watch the Gators play in the NIT. Hopefully he'll continue to be their good luck charm. GO GATORS!!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Springing Forward

With the new season coming what better time to start a new treatment? Dallas' platelet level is still climbing (at 64,000 today!) and his oncologist feels comfortable enough to start him on a new drug. This time it will be administered orally with a weekly visit to the oncologist in Gainesville.

The trips down south will keep on coming. Next weekend, the family (excluding myself sadly) will spend some time at the Grandparents lake house and again two weeks after that for Easter. Jonathan and I will hopefully be able to make that trip and escape what seems like a never ending "northern winter".

Another small vacation is being planned for a long weekend at the Suwannee River, where our Granddaddy used to have a house. And of course there's still the trip to visit the most awesome sister in the world in DC at the end of April.

Let's see those platelets try and beat all that!

-J

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Home Sweet Home

Sorry for yet another delay. Dallas was released from Shands Monday evening and arrived back in Tallahassee on Wednesday night just in time for my visit. We've all been so busy since then that updating kept getting pushed back.

As of Friday morning Dallas' platelet level was still rising and had reached 31,000. Since my arrival, mom and I have been working hard on keeping up with his never ending appetite.

Symptoms such as numbness in his left side associated with the tumor have started to surface. On Tuesday he will make another trip to Shands to meet with Dr. Smith (his NO) to discuss the next step in treatment and possibly have an MRI. The MRI will help them to decide exactly what his options are and the best one to move forward with.

Since I've been back we've been very busy with excursions to the Junior Museum (now known as the Tallahassee Museum, but we'll never acknowledge the change), the beach at Alligator Point, watched numerous FSU basketball games (they just lost the ACC Championship unfortunately) and sat by the pool for a cookout. It's been a great visit filled with lots of laughter as usual, and I'll be very sad to leave tomorrow. Tonight David has promised to kick all our butts in Apples to Apples.

We'll see.

-Jessie

PS - New photos have been uploaded on the right. More will be posted soon.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Temperamental Platelets

It has been a roller coaster of a weekend, for the platelets anyway. After coming up to 15,000 on Friday they dropped again to 7,000 on Saturday. The doctors believe that surprisingly the Avastin (chemo) Dallas has been on since October may actually have caused the drops.

As of this morning his platelet count has risen to 15,000. They believe the increase is because they have taken him off of all meds and started administering steroids. When his counts reach 75,000 a new treatment path will be discussed and implemented. Hopefully sooner than later.

Poor Dallas seems to be bored out of his mind. He feels good and was finally allowed to go out for a walk yesterday but will not be released from the hospital until his counts reach 20,000. Dr. Smith (NO) seems to think that will be tomorrow or Wednesday if the rise continues. Until then he will have to occupy his time with episodes of Jerry Springer and Oprah.

That's all for now. Hopefully tomorrow will bring a post of hospital exodus.

-J

Friday, March 6, 2009

Message Board for Dallas

Aside from leaving messages on here for Dallas, I also encourage everyone to use the Shands website:

http://www.shands.org/Public/message/default.asp

Dallas will probably be there for the rest of the weekend so anything you send via that site will definitely reach him.

I know he would appreciate hearing from you all!

-J

Platelets Need Attention Too

Everyone,

I've started updating Dallas' blog again with updates I've sent to friends since our smooth sailing has apparently ended.

I spoke too soon when I wrote last and said Dallas was reacting well to treatment. With the new drug that has been introduced into his bi-weekly infusions it takes 2-3 days for the side-effects to take hold. The weekend following that treatment (the weekend of Valentine's Day) he got sick, lost his appetite, felt constant nausea and had muscle aches that lasted for about two days.

Since then he was doing fairly well. He continued back with his classes and working regularly. However, on Monday he went for his weekly blood work, which monitors red and white cell and platelet levels, and found that his platelet level was down. Platelets help to clot the blood and prevent excessive bleeding if you have an injury, nosebleed, etc. He had two very heavy nosebleeds this weekend that took a long time to stop which now makes sense (he's always had one here and there and they have become more frequent during the past few years of treatment). An average person's platelet level is anywhere from 150,000 to 400,000. His was at 15,000. A transfusion was ordered for Tuesday. The next day his counts had barely risen. Yesterday they gave him another transfusion. His level still fell to 9,000. 8,000 is where it becomes extremely critical.

His oncologist, who is at Shands about 2.5 hours from Tallahassee, wanted to admit him there immediately so my parents drove him down last night. Since then his levels are up to 14,000, still not good. The problem is the transfusions are not working, the blood seems to be "eating them up". More tests are being done to make sure there is no internal bleeding, especially around the brain.

I've done some research on my own to see what the possible next steps would be but I'm not that bright so this pretty much came up fruitless. Obviously finding the cause of the constant drop in the level is key to determining what how to move forward. They don't seem to think is it the new drug since he hasn't had that since the middle of February (that drug is only given every other infusion). The drug that is given every bi-weekly infusion started in October so that is a very unlikely culprit as well.

The confusing thing is that he seems to feel fine. He had a headache briefly last night when the levels were at their lowest but that went away before he was admitted to Shands. This morning he has some bruising and little red spots which are very common when someone has levels this low. But again, he seems to feel fine and still has his appetite. Shands is an amazing facility with lots of good food and he's definitely taking advantage.

Today he is going be doing a lot of testing. A CAT Scan will be done to check for internal bleeding and a host of other tests will be conducted until the cause is found.

I'm afraid that's the only information I have for now. I made arrangements weeks ago to go back to Tallahassee this Wednesday to hang out with him after his next infusion (which includes the drug that made him sick a month ago) in case he felt terrible. As of right now I will stick with those plans. I'll update you all when we hear something, which hopefully will be soon.

Much love,

Jessie

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Next Plan of Attack

Everyone,

It took longer than we were expecting to hear back from Dallas' NO (Dr. Smith) about what the next step should be; however, she was at a conference in Atlanta and was able to discuss with other doctors Dallas' condition and get their feedback on what to do next.

We are going to begin Avastin plus Carboplatin, which was actually started today (February 12th). When Dallas did his intense chemo back at the beginning of 2007 he did another platin drug which he responded well to. This is why they decided to keep him on Avastin and try Carboplatin instead of the CPT drug...I have no idea what I'm talking about by the way.

They are discussing some other treatment options that my mom has done research on and which can hopefully be used as a backup. There is also a trial she just discovered they are doing at Duke on immunotherapy...or vaccines. Always before Dallas didn't qualify for vaccine therapy because to develop a vaccine, they had to be able to get enough tumor material to work with (and as many of you know his tumor is inoperable). It seems now that they are developing the vaccines through blood samples. Dallas' tumor may be too advanced to go this route, but we're going to discuss it with his NO in any case.

So, his bi-weekley schedule of going to Shands in Gainesville for 1 day of infusion will continue for the time being. His, along with David obviously, 21st birthday is coming up at the end of April. As long as he reacts well to this chemo (some possible side effects include a stronger attack on the immune system - aka low blood counts, loss of hair, etc.) we are planning on doing a trip to New Orleans the first week of May for their annual Jazz Festival or possibly a trip to DC to see their most favoritist sister ever.

My family and I appreciate all of the kind words you all have sent throughout this and the past two and a half years. Without your support this would be an impossible road to travel.

Best wishes,

Jessie

Friday, February 6, 2009

That Timmy Can Be A Real Jerk

Everyone,

It has been over a year. A year filled with good and bad scans, but an amazing year for Dallas in any case. He did really well in school in the Spring and Fall of '08, went to the Keys on a week long vacation over Christmas, got to see the the Gators win another National Championship game in Miami this January and was able to spend a week with his favorite sister in DC this past summer. Oh to be 20 again.

So, on to the Timmy update:

As most of you know, December's MRI showed a reduction in the size of the tumor which meant it was positively reacting to his current Chemo regimen of Avastin/CPT-11. Even his Neurological Oncologist, Dr. Smith, was pleasantly surprised.

Dallas' MRI Tuesday, February 3rd, however, was not so good. He has at least 2 new areas in the temporal lobe (Google it because I'll butcher any explanation) where tumor cells have migrated by way of white matter pathways from the original tumor site. Dr. Smith stopped all treatment Tuesday (he did not get his scheduled Avastin/CPT-11 infusion nor did he start his monthly dose of Temodar) while we search for a new treatment plan. Dr. Smith is going to talk with Dr. Friedman (Duke) and Dr. Fine (NCI) today as well as with another doctor at MD Andersen to see what their recommendations are for a new treatment and how to proceed.

Meanwhile, Dallas remains without symptoms.....in fact, he seems better than ever. Needless to say, we were all fairly shocked to find that Timmy wasn't going to continue to cooperate.

Hopefully, these amazing doctors will find a new path for us to travel and Dallas will continue to live a full life beyond the constraints Timmy layed out for him more than 2 years ago.

That's all for now. I'll try and keep you all updated over the next week or so as more news becomes available.

Love,

Jessie