"Running in Memory of Dalton Blakley"

Brian Blakley misses his son.

“I miss his wittiness, the things he’d say. I miss playing sports with him, just being around him,” Blakley says, then pauses and drops his head. “I miss everything about him, really.”

Dalton died June 27 at the age of 13. He had been battling a form of cancer, neuroblastoma, for more than a year.
The loss has been agonizing for Blakley, his family, friends and members of the Astoria community where Dalton lived, played baseball and excelled in school.

Yet, through the sadness, Blakley possesses a strength and a drive to ensure that Dalton’s memory lives on. He also wants to draw attention to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where Dalton spent much of the final year of his life.

“The people at St. Jude became his secondary family,” Blakley said. “It’s just a really important place. At St. Jude, they’re driven by saving children’s lives and finding a cure for cancer.”

Blakley already was familiar with St. Jude because his 16-year-old son Brody was diagnosed with a type of liver cancer when he was a 1-year-old.  “St. Jude saved his life,” he said.

Because of that, and because of how the hospital cared for Dalton, Blakley wants to give back. He will come to Quincy on Friday to participate in the St. Jude Quincy to Peoria Run.

The Astoria man who works at Dot Foods in Mount Sterling is one of nearly 60 area runners and volunteers who will raise awareness — and money — for the hospital in Memphis, Tenn., and its Midwest Affiliate in Peoria.
The runners begin their journey at 5:30 p.m. Friday at County Market, 30th and Broadway, and continue relay-style for 135 miles until about 4 p.m. Saturday when they reach the Civic Center in Peoria, where they will join runners from Memphis and 17 other running groups for the annual St. Jude Telethon.

“The runners are already motivated. But maybe I can offer some inspiration to push a little harder,” Blakley said. “I will run when I

can. Mainly, I will be talking to runners, going from motor home to motor home telling Dalton’s and Brody’s stories.”

A poignant moment on the trip is sure to be a stop in Dalton’s hometown of Astoria at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday. Community members are planning to greet the runners and treat them to pastries, water and other goodies.
It was at the Astoria stop during the 2006 run when the Quincy contingent first learned about Dalton. He had been diagnosed with neuroblastoma just 10 weeks earlier, on May 25.

Neuroblastoma is a cancer that forms in the peripheral nervous tissue.  Blakley says he noticed Dalton was more tired than usual and decided to take him to the doctor. A tumor the size of a softball was discovered under his left adrenal gland.  He was transferred to a Peoria hospital and then to St. Jude in Memphis. The neuroblastoma already was a Stage 4, or a late stage, cancer.

Dalton went through a couple of weeks of chemotherapy, then had an operation July 11, in which 99 percent of the tumor was removed. That was followed with more than 30 weeks of chemotherapy.  Treatments took place at both the Memphis and Peoria sites.  St. Jude then sent Dalton to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, for an experimental treatment called MIBG.

MIBG (Meta-Iodo-Benzyl-Guanidine) is a chemical attached to radioactive iodine, which is injected to attack the neuroblastoma cells.  A stem cell transplant was planned for March, but then doctors discovered Dalton had veno-occlusive disease as a result of chemotherapy. The disease causes a blockage of small veins in the liver.
 

“We were waiting on a drug from Italy (to treat the VOD). It’s not available in the U.S. I’m not sure why, and something needs to be done about it,” Blakley said.
 

The drug arrived on the day that Dalton died.  “He was extremely tough,” Blakley said of how well his son handled being sick. “He was smiling right up to the end. He made it a lot easier on all of us. His strength and perseverance, he made it so we could cope.”  Dalton’s strength continues to inspire Blakley and Dalton’s mom, Pamela, who lives in Peoria. Yet, their grief is heavy.

“We get out of bed every morning and go on. But we feel a little cheated, too,” Blakley said. “Neuroblastoma is a terrible cancer and we need to strive harder to find a cure.”

Because of the research done at St. Jude since its founding in 1962, five-year survival rates have increased dramatically for many pediatric cancers. For example, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia jumped from 4 percent in 1962 to 94 percent today.

Six other common pediatric cancers now have five-year survival rates above 85 percent.  Yet for neuroblastoma, it’s 55 percent.  Blakley says that’s why the St. Jude Run is so important, to help fund research to find better treatments and cures.

“Hopefully some good can come out of Dalton’s death and we can save other children,” he said.
Blakley also emphasizes that it takes more than $1.2 million to operate the hospital each day, and most of that comes from donations.

St. Jude, founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatments that are not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude also helps with lodging, food and travel for patients and families.  “It’s like a security blanket,” Blakley said, describing the care shown to both the children and their families.  St. Jude treats the children to a variety of activities and experiences to help take their mind off their treatments, if only for a short while. Dalton had the chance to meet Zakk Wylde, guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, and actress Anne Hathaway. He went to a Memphis Grizzlies game and got a ride in a NASCAR race car.

“Dalton held St. Jude close to his heart,” he added. “He would be happy with what we’re doing.”
 

To donate to the St. Jude Quincy to Peoria Run, call run coordinator Rick Meehan at (217) 779-2358.