Dillyn’s journey began when he was just 13 years old. He was an active excited junior high student and an avid wrestler. After wrestling practice one day, his mother noticed he was holding his chest and seemed to be coming down with a bad cold. The following days were filled with doctors visits and increasingly worse symptoms. It was a trip to the hospital that lead to the conclusion that Dillyn’s platelet level was dangerously low. Normal platelet levels range from 150,000 to 300,000; Dillyn’s was just under 35,000 and would continue to drop. Shortly after, Dillyn was diagnosed with Leukemia. His mother explains that the hardest part that followed the discovery of Dillyn’s diagnosis was telling her son that leukemia was cancer.

The coming months brought the Mumme family emotional and physical challenges. Dillyn spent almost 100 days in the hospital and missed a large portion of the school year. However, despite these challenges Dillyn was able to graduate with his class and in the top 10 percent. He is now approaching college graduation and anticipates entering the real world in hopes of landing his dream job. Dillyn and his family have been forever touched by Dance Marathon. They reminisce on going to the Big Event just 2 weeks after Dillyn was diagnosed. Dillyn explained that “Without Dance Marathon our family would not be the family it is today”. The Mumme family continues to actively support Dance Marathon and stand by the families that have fought the battle against pediatric cancer just as they have.