5 months

Tomorrow will be 5 month since Danny passed away. I think this is the worst time of the year. Danny love Thanksgiving and Christmas. He was a big part of our lives. I love and miss him so much. I can not  understand why he had to go so young.
Josh will be leaving on Feb 23rd for boot camp. He is so excited to start his life. I am excited and scared at the same time. I really do not want him to leave. but i understand he needs to do this.
Aaron cut his hair. and colored it black. I miss his long hair. But it was time for it to go. He has a girlfriend that is a wonderful girl. And he is doing good in school  he is a SR in high school.
They are great boys and I am proud to say I am their mom.

Thanksgiving With Out Our Danny

Today has been a hard day for me. I really have to say this whole week has been hard. I have not done much. go to work do my job come home and just crash. I didn't think it would be so hard for me. But it is hard on me. I just wish I had someone other then my hubby to talk to about what i am thinking.
I found out last week that josh is leaving for the air force in feb 23rd so i think that is helping me feel the way i am feeling.

I Did It

I did it I started to go through Danny's room today. It was so hard I just cried when I found things that I didn't know that he had. But I started that is all that counts.

My 3 Sons

I have decided that I am changing my blog a little and ad the other to boys to it. I lave all three of them and want to share there lives also. so stay tuned to what is coming. I am going to clean Danny's room today I promise. Talk to you soon.

I told you so

I told you I walked into Danny's room and just couldn't go through his stuff. So I will try again another Day. There is no rush..

Danny's Room

Today will be a hard day for me. I'm going to go through Danny's room. Aaron wants to move into his room so I guess it's time to do it. I have been saying today is the day and I go in there and just cry. So I think that today will be the day. I guess I will have to just cry and do it. So wish me luck and I will let everyone know if I really do it.

2 months

WOW can you believe it. 

I lost my boy 2 months ago. It just seems like yesterday for me. I miss my Danny with all my heart. He was my life and joy and now I only have pictures and sweet and wonderful memories to remember him. I know its the way of life but its not fair. I would like to thank all the wonderful people that helped us out during our time of need. I hope that one day if someone needs my help I will be able to help them.

I Love and Miss you Danny

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This is a song I heard that reminds me of Danny.

Why did he have to go 

So young I just don't know why 

Things happen half the time 

Without reason without rhyme

Lovely, sweet young man

son, love and brother

Makes no sense to me

I just have to believe

He flew up to Heaven on the wings of angels

By the clouds and stars and passed where no one sees

And he walks with Jesus and his loved ones waiting

And I know he's smiling saying

Don't worry 'bout me

Loved ones he left behind

Just trying to survive 

And understand the why

Feeling so lost inside

Anger shot straight at God

Then asking for His love

Empty with disbelief 

Just hoping that maybe

He flew up to Heaven on the wings of angels

By the clouds and stars and passed where no one sees

And he walks with Jesus and his loved ones waiting

And I know he's smiling saying

Don't worry 'bout me

It's hard to say goodbye

His picture in my mind

Will always be of times I'll cherish

And I won't cry 'cause

He flew up to Heaven on the wings of angels

By the clouds and stars and passed where no one sees

And he walks with jesus and his loved ones waiting

And I know he's smiling saying

Don't worry 'bout me

Don't worry 'bout me

Don..t worry 'bout me

Danny’s Story

Danny Record is a remarkable young man and a cherished member of the Utah DeMolay family.  He is the middle son of the Record boys.  His older brother, Josh, is our current State Master Councilor and his younger brother, Aaron, is our current State Junior Councilor.  His father, Allen, is the Grand Lecture for our Grand Lodge and is a member of the Executive Officer’s state staff.  His mother, Ginger, is the first female Chapter Advisor for Utah and was the Advisor of the Year last year for her incredible support when all three of her sons were Master Councilor at the same time (Josh – SMC, Danny – MC Salt Lake Chapter & Aaron – MC for RW Moore Chapter).  

The Record Brothers story is remarkable in itself, but for these brothers to have accomplished so much together is all the more incredible when you include the grim fact that since April of 2006, Danny has been fighting Leukemia.  Danny served back-to-back terms as Master Councilor, earning himself the Utah DeMolay of the Year award and leading one of the two chapters he serves to the title of Chapter of the Year in 2008 all while battling cancer and suffering through chemotherapy.

[Shared by his mother]

On April 23, 2006, we were told something that no parent would ever want to hear that your child has cancer.  Danny was diagnosed with Pre-B Cell Leukemia (ALL).  When the doctors were telling us this all I could think of is grab Danny and never let him go.  Why does a child have to go through this it's not fair. At the time of his diagnosis he was a sophomore at Granger High School, and a member of the schools wrestling team.  Danny was removed from school and immediately began chemotherapy. 

Danny's doctors worked very hard and were able to get the Cancer into remission in less than 6 weeks.  With the type of Cancer he has, remission is not the end.  His treatment plan included Chemotherapy for three and a half years. Danny developed AVN (Avascular Necrosis).  This is a disease that causes the bones to begin to die because of low, or no blood flow.  This was caused by the steroids that are part of the Cancer treatment.   The AVN caused Danny's hip to break making it very painful for Danny to walk, or even sit.  The doctors sent him to a orthopedic that specializes in AVN and the decision was made to rebuild his hip by taking a bone graft from his lower leg and reconstructing the ball of the femur with the new bone, then connect good blood vessels to the new bone.  The surgery was very hard on Danny, and he lost a lot of blood, but in the end, the reconstruction was successful. During all this Danny would come to Chapter meetings on crutches. He wanted his chapter to succeed and to see the chapter grow.  

In February of this year, we saw the end of the road.  He was scheduled to complete his Chemotherapy in August, and he was making plans to move forward with his life. He was Junior Councilor again.   Just as we thought we were about done, the worst possible news came to us again.  Danny's Cancer had returned.  Not only was the Cancer back, it was worse that it was before. “Why Danny,” I said, “it’s not fair has he been through enough l do not understand.” I just wanted to take it from him, he has been through this, and he is not supposed to do this again. NO! NO! NO!

Danny spent over 50 days in the hospital during February and March.  During this time, the doctors started very aggressive Chemotherapy, and tried to do it without the steroids, as they knew that the steroids would cause more problems.  After a couple weeks, they found that there was no improvement.  We then had a real hard decision to make, either keep trying with the same therapy that we knew was not working, or go to a different therapy that included the steroids, knowing that there would be more complications.  

The other part of the treatment was that this time, Danny will require a bone marrow transplant.  The transplant itself has its own set of risks associated with it, but without it, Danny's odds of survival are negligible.  The first thing the doctors did was to test his two brothers to see if either of them would be a match.  The odds are not good for this; in fact there is only a 35% chance that a sibling is a match.  To our delight, Danny's little brother Aaron was a perfect match.

That brings us to today.  In order for the transplant to happen, Danny must be in remission.  About 2 weeks ago, we learned that the therapy is working, Danny was declared in remission and we are now in the process of doing all the final preparations and work up for the transplant. He has to go through 3 days of radiation 2 times a day. Danny has to stand for about 45 min. Then he has to have Chemotherapy for 4 days then he gets to have a day of rest.  Then the day of rest is where they go and harvest the bone marrow from Aaron. They have to put a line in Aaron’s neck and pull out the bone marrow. Then the next day is the bone marrow transplant. We are so hopeful for Danny.

[Current Update]

It is with a heavy heart that I provide this update.  The bone marrow transplant occurred a few weeks prior to ISC Sessions and initially it appeared that this harrowing journey would be over.  Sadly, as with many cancers, this has not been the case.

One week ago everything was going great with Danny's progress. He then contracted a virus and was trying to overcome it. On the Friday of ISC Sessions, he took a turn for the worst and the family almost lost him. He was moved to the ICU with failing kidney and liver functions. His abdomen was also filling up with fluid. 

 

The medical team placed a tube in his abdomen to drain off the fluids and also placed two tubes in his neck for dialysis. On Saturday he was seeing some signs of improvement. As they drained off the fluids his kidney functions began slightly improving. So far they have drained off 10 Liters of fluid. The doctors believe that the fluid build-up is a result of his reduced liver functions. 

 

He has contracted a liver disease called Veno-occlusive Disease (VOD) which causes an improper functioning of the liver by blocking the flow of blood through the liver. At 6:00 this evening they began giving him an experimental drug to combat the VOD.  His mother contacted me this morning to inform me that they had to place him on life support because his breathing has become extremely labored.  He is listed as stable but critical condition.  Please keep Danny and his family in your prayers as we are hoping for the blessing of God in his fight.

To the extended family of DeMolay International:

It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that I notify everyone 

that Danny lost his battle with cancer.  He fought valiantly through the weekend but in the end was too weary to fight on.  I would like to share this message sent out by his parents:

Tonight June 29 2009  at 6:10, we lost our dear sweet Danny. He fought so hard, for so long, his body just couldn't hold out any longer. He was surrounded by his whole family, he didn't go alone. We will miss him so much, We Love Him, and are So Proud of him. I don't know if any parent could be any prouder, than we are of Danny. I don't know if this void can ever be filled. Thank you all for your love and support. Once we have arrangements made, we will let you all know.

Love 

Ginger & Allen 

Danny was our only Chevalier this year and was invested with this honor on Sunday in his hospital room and will be buried with is cords per his request.  The family has requested a DeMolay Funeral Service and a Masonic Graveside Service as he was also a new Master Mason.  His brothers Josh (SMC) and Aaron (SJC) will be conducting the DeMolay Funeral Service.

“Dad” Steve Lancaster

E.O. Utah DeMolay