Every year, the CAA’s amazing dance companies put on a Benefit Concert to honor and raise money for local families or organizations. It is always such a special night as our dancers use their talents to reach out and make a difference in the world around them. On December 1st, we are so humbled to be dancing to honor two incredible kids Luke DeLaMare and Quincy Barton.
About Luke:
Rich and Amy DeLaMare and their 6 children are a tight-knit family who loves spending time together in any capacity. They especially love camping, hiking and outdoor sports where they can explore and experience the wonders of nature. Their second child Luke is a hard-working, hands on 17-year-old who loves people, photography and everything outdoors. He also has a passion for travel and humanitarian work and hopes to harness his experiences and love for life to influence people for good. But Luke’s world was turned upside down mid September, when he learned that he had a brain tumor. He had been experiencing extreme headaches, numbness on his left side, shakiness, and nausea that continually grew worse over a period of a few months. It became so severe that he was taken to Primary Children’s Hospital emergency room and a CAT scan revealed that he had a fist-sized tumor in his right parietal lobe. The medical team scheduled surgery the next morning and tumor was 95% resected. The initial biopsy result indicated that the tumor appeared to be benign, but two weeks later the final pathology results came back with heart-breaking news. Luke had glioblastoma IDH-mutant grade 4 cancer which is an extremely aggressive and incurable.
Following the surgery Luke’s cerebral spinal fluid started accumulating under the surgery site due to a leak in the incision of the dura, which is the membrane lining around his brain. Luke had to visit the ER and the neuro-surgery clinic so that the doctors could drain the fluid and wrap his head tight in hopes to stop the leak and encourage the fluid to drain properly. Nothing was working and the pressure became so intense that the fluid began to leak out of the stitches in his skin. By the time Luke arrived at the ER, he had an excruciating headache, stiffness in his neck, extreme shaking and was freezing cold. The doctors ran cultures on the fluid they drained and determined that it had become infected and he had meningitis.
The following day, Luke had to endure a second surgery where they opened everything back up in an attempt to sterilize and clean out the infection in his brain and tissues. They also put in a lumbar drain and attempted to fix the dura.
A few hours after surgery, a CAT scan showed that excessive fluid was still leaking and causing the midline of Luke’s brain to shift. They immediately prepped him for another surgery to place a patch on the dura, and to put 2 drains in his head. After a painful and slow recovery in the hospital, Luke was allowed to come home with a PICC line and home health care. He was given a weeks time to gain as much strength as possible before starting radiation and chemotherapy. He will receive this treatment 5 days a week at the Hunstman Cancer Institute for the next 7 weeks. After a 4 week break he will then have 6 treatments of chemotherapy each lasting 6 weeks.
Luke has weathered this devastation with a steady resolve and a peaceful heart. He is brave beyond his years and intends to fight this cancer with all the courage he has. Luke has always been an optimist who meets life head on with abundant enthusiasm. He hopes to beat the odds and see his dreams for the future become a reality. We are so humbled and grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received. It has sustained us and given us great hope. We believe in miracles!
About Quincy:
On February 13, 2018 Quincy’s mom went to change her diaper to find that it was full of blood. Knowing that this wasn’t normal, she called Quincy’s pediatrician who had her come in for a visit later that afternoon. At the doctor’s visit her pediatrician expressed concern that something serious was going on but sent her home with instructions to her parents to try and collect a urine sample to rule out a urinary tract infection. That evening Quincy was her normal, happy, 2 year old self dancing around the house and playing with her brothers. After she went to bed that night she started to vomit. This was enough to push her parents to immediately take her to the emergency department at Primary Children’s Hospital in the middle of the night.
The emergency room doctor quickly ruled out a urinary tract infection but said that an abdominal ultrasound would be helpful to rule out any kidney stones. The abdominal ultrasound showed a 2 pound tumor on her left kidney. She was immediately admitted to the oncology floor and assigned a surgical and oncology team. The next day she had the tumor removed along with her left kidney. The biopsy of the tumor showed that she had Stage III Wilm’s Tumor.
The week after surgery she started chemo therapy which she continued to do for the next seven months. She also received radiation at Hunstman Cancer Institute. As of mid-September she has had clear scans with no indication of cancer. She will continue to have scans for the next 5 years to make sure no tumors appear where they were before.
Quincy is an amazing girl who inspires everyone around her. She is full if life and fun! She has taken this entire experience in stride and continues to be positive and happy through it all.
We hope all our CAA families will join us on December 1st as our dance companies perform to help fight childhood cancer. In addition to a beautiful performance honoring these two amazing kids, we will be holding a bake sale and silent auction to help with their extraordinary medical costs. This truly will be an event to remember, changing the lives of everyone who attends. You won’t want to miss it!
About Luke:
Rich and Amy DeLaMare and their 6 children are a tight-knit family who loves spending time together in any capacity. They especially love camping, hiking and outdoor sports where they can explore and experience the wonders of nature. Their second child Luke is a hard-working, hands on 17-year-old who loves people, photography and everything outdoors. He also has a passion for travel and humanitarian work and hopes to harness his experiences and love for life to influence people for good. But Luke’s world was turned upside down mid September, when he learned that he had a brain tumor. He had been experiencing extreme headaches, numbness on his left side, shakiness, and nausea that continually grew worse over a period of a few months. It became so severe that he was taken to Primary Children’s Hospital emergency room and a CAT scan revealed that he had a fist-sized tumor in his right parietal lobe. The medical team scheduled surgery the next morning and tumor was 95% resected. The initial biopsy result indicated that the tumor appeared to be benign, but two weeks later the final pathology results came back with heart-breaking news. Luke had glioblastoma IDH-mutant grade 4 cancer which is an extremely aggressive and incurable.
Following the surgery Luke’s cerebral spinal fluid started accumulating under the surgery site due to a leak in the incision of the dura, which is the membrane lining around his brain. Luke had to visit the ER and the neuro-surgery clinic so that the doctors could drain the fluid and wrap his head tight in hopes to stop the leak and encourage the fluid to drain properly. Nothing was working and the pressure became so intense that the fluid began to leak out of the stitches in his skin. By the time Luke arrived at the ER, he had an excruciating headache, stiffness in his neck, extreme shaking and was freezing cold. The doctors ran cultures on the fluid they drained and determined that it had become infected and he had meningitis.
The following day, Luke had to endure a second surgery where they opened everything back up in an attempt to sterilize and clean out the infection in his brain and tissues. They also put in a lumbar drain and attempted to fix the dura.
A few hours after surgery, a CAT scan showed that excessive fluid was still leaking and causing the midline of Luke’s brain to shift. They immediately prepped him for another surgery to place a patch on the dura, and to put 2 drains in his head. After a painful and slow recovery in the hospital, Luke was allowed to come home with a PICC line and home health care. He was given a weeks time to gain as much strength as possible before starting radiation and chemotherapy. He will receive this treatment 5 days a week at the Hunstman Cancer Institute for the next 7 weeks. After a 4 week break he will then have 6 treatments of chemotherapy each lasting 6 weeks.
Luke has weathered this devastation with a steady resolve and a peaceful heart. He is brave beyond his years and intends to fight this cancer with all the courage he has. Luke has always been an optimist who meets life head on with abundant enthusiasm. He hopes to beat the odds and see his dreams for the future become a reality. We are so humbled and grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received. It has sustained us and given us great hope. We believe in miracles!
About Quincy:
On February 13, 2018 Quincy’s mom went to change her diaper to find that it was full of blood. Knowing that this wasn’t normal, she called Quincy’s pediatrician who had her come in for a visit later that afternoon. At the doctor’s visit her pediatrician expressed concern that something serious was going on but sent her home with instructions to her parents to try and collect a urine sample to rule out a urinary tract infection. That evening Quincy was her normal, happy, 2 year old self dancing around the house and playing with her brothers. After she went to bed that night she started to vomit. This was enough to push her parents to immediately take her to the emergency department at Primary Children’s Hospital in the middle of the night.
The emergency room doctor quickly ruled out a urinary tract infection but said that an abdominal ultrasound would be helpful to rule out any kidney stones. The abdominal ultrasound showed a 2 pound tumor on her left kidney. She was immediately admitted to the oncology floor and assigned a surgical and oncology team. The next day she had the tumor removed along with her left kidney. The biopsy of the tumor showed that she had Stage III Wilm’s Tumor.
The week after surgery she started chemo therapy which she continued to do for the next seven months. She also received radiation at Hunstman Cancer Institute. As of mid-September she has had clear scans with no indication of cancer. She will continue to have scans for the next 5 years to make sure no tumors appear where they were before.
Quincy is an amazing girl who inspires everyone around her. She is full if life and fun! She has taken this entire experience in stride and continues to be positive and happy through it all.
We hope all our CAA families will join us on December 1st as our dance companies perform to help fight childhood cancer. In addition to a beautiful performance honoring these two amazing kids, we will be holding a bake sale and silent auction to help with their extraordinary medical costs. This truly will be an event to remember, changing the lives of everyone who attends. You won’t want to miss it!
