The 8-year previous son of retired NYPD Lt. Eric Dym has died after touching the hearts of those that realized of his brave battle in opposition to mind most cancers.
“Derek fought so hard,” his broken-hearted dad informed The Put up. “This cancer is just a monster.”
The boy, who liked Minecraft, swimming, and artwork, died peacefully on Might 1 — 14 months after being identified with DMG Glioma, an aggressive most cancers which strikes about 300 youngsters a 12 months within the US.
“We always thought if anybody could beat it, it would be Derek,” stated Dym, an ex-Marine and co-host of a New York Metropolis-based podcast on policing.
The teen’s courageous battle — “he never complained,” Dym stated — sparked an awesome response. A GoFundMe marketing campaign raised almost $600,000 to assist the household pay bills.
The most cancers began with complications, putting whereas Dym, his spouse Luiza, Derek and daughter Ellie, 3, had been residing in Bali after promoting their house to journey via Asia on the journey of a lifetime.
Leaving all the pieces behind, the Dyms rushed to LA, the closest US metropolis with a youngsters’s hospital.
Whereas they stayed in an RV, Derek underwent radiation and oral chemotherapy for the tumor, which couldn’t be surgically eliminated due to its location within the mind.
On their very own, the Dyms additionally bought pricey various remedies corresponding to a sound-therapy machine and a tool utilizing low-frequency electrical fields aimed toward destroying most cancers cells.
However Derek’s situation steadily worsened.
Courtesy of Eric Dym
He entered hospice on March 5, and Laguna Seaside law enforcement officials escorted the household to an residence the place Derek may get consolation care at house.
“We were fighting two parallels. For one, we knew it wasn’t curable. And the other was that doctors aren’t God, and we were hoping for a miracle, so we weren’t going to give up.”
Derek fell into “a deep sleep” on Easter Sunday, Dym stated.
Little sister Ellie stored asking, “When’s he going to play? When’s he going to start talking? When’s he going to walk again?” Dym stated.
Derek didn’t get up. “We told her that Derek went to live with God, and she said she wants to go live with God, too.”
“I’ll always remember YOU as my hero,” Dym stated of his son on X. “Until we meet again, I will only have good memories.”
