All-Star Dublin

It was 3 a.m., and little Dublin and his mom and dad, Tara and David, had been sitting in the emergency room (ER) for hours. All they wanted was to go home and get a few hours of sleep before the start of another busy week.

The visit was just a precaution to check that Dublin’s distended tummy was nothing serious. They suspected it was a hernia or bloating from his new lactose-free milk. Then the doctor walked in. The next few minutes changed their lives forever; Dublin had a mass on his kidney the size of a cantaloupe.

Dublin was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor, a type of kidney cancer, at just 23 months old.

“I just kept saying, cancer, how can this happen? He is just a baby,” Tara said. “Dave started to tear up too. It was a lot of emotion.”

His pediatrician had examined him only a few months before, and everything was fine. How could a tumor that large suddenly appear in such a small child?

The ER doctor explained that it grows at the back of the kidney until it gets big. Then it pushes everything to the front of the abdomen.

Dublin’s two sisters took his diagnosis hard, so his parents had to quickly switch from processing their own emotions to caring for their daughters, trying to reassure them and hold them when they cried. With the weight of childhood cancer, Dublin’s parents also had to struggle for answers when they asked if their brother was going to die.

After Dublin’s diagnosis, Tara and Dublin had to stay in the hospital for an entire month. Tara and Dave both worked. Dave’s employer was supportive, telling him to take all the time he needed. Tara tried to work a few nights at her restaurant job, but soon realized it was impossible. That left them with no income and family life to balance.

Dave stayed home with the girls while Tara and Dublin were in the hospital, trying to keep their routine as normal as possible, taking them to school and their practices. In between, they visited their brother in the hospital.

“I am a wreck in the hospital, and they were a wreck at home,” Tara said. “They missed mommy, and daddy’s not mommy, and it took a lot of adjusting.”

Tara’s responsibility in the hospital was to care for Dublin. His cancer required an extensive eight-hour surgery, and Dublin was on a cocktail of the harshest painkillers, medications like Ketamine, Oxycontin, and Fentanyl, a mix that terrified Tara. It took a few days to manage his pain, so Tara was in a hospital room hour after hour with him as he screamed and cried because of a pain that he could not understand. He was inconsolable.

“I stood for hours rubbing his head, and I fell asleep just standing up next to him, trying to get him to relax,” Tara said.

Since then, he’s really been a trooper, she said.

“He doesn’t cry anymore, even when they stick him,” Tara said. “He is almost numb to it.”

Later on, they learned more sad news; Dublin’s cancer had spread to his lungs and lymph nodes, meaning that his cancer was Stage Four. That complicated his treatment plan and involved radiation, more chemotherapy, and more surgery.

Dublin became skinny and pale with grey under his eyes. His hair thinned. He kept falling over when he tried to get up. He developed what is referred to as “chemo brain,” where he would constantly walk around aimlessly and was unable to pay attention to anything. He stopped talking and had trouble feeding himself. He became unrecognizable to the people who loved him.

Going back to work wouldn’t be possible for Tara with all the care needed for Dublin. Eventually, Dave returned to work, but the bills kept piling up, and gas prices continued to rise.

“Luckily, we have had tremendous help from Pinky swear, and we'll always remember how they helped us when our world felt like it was falling apart,” Tara said.

The family received an Orange Envelope from Pinky Swear, which provides timely assistance, including a $200 gift card and letters of encouragement.

“It felt like a blessing. Every little thing helps, especially when you're having a bad day or when you're stressed out about bills and money. It really helps take the stress off,” Tara said. “It felt good not to be so stressed, not to have to worry about things like finances or cash, just be able to focus on Dublin that day or on whatever's going on in the moment.”

They used the gift card to pay for gas and groceries.

“Whenever we go to the hospital, whether because he’s staying there, or if he's sick, which is all the time, we eat out all day because it’s easy and simple and we just don’t have time to cook,” Tara said. “I haven’t had the energy or even the time to do it, but it’s expensive.”

A couple of months later, Dublin’s family received an All-Star Fund payment from Pinky Swear, which can help cover everyday expenses, including rent or mortgage, utility payments, gas, groceries, and car payments.

“We are so blessed,” Tara said. “Pinky Swear stepped up, no questions asked, and has helped relieve some of the financial burden from everyday bills falling behind.”

She said the mounting bills and her staying home full-time to care for Dublin took a toll on her family’s finances. Without the help of Pinky Swear and its donors, she doesn’t know what would have happened.

“We are so grateful that people out there are willing to help us and other families when they need it the most,” Tara said.