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Patrick’s Story

Patrick Rodney McMullen was born on July 8, 2002. He joined his older sister, Katie, and made our family complete. Patrick was a happy, kind, funny, tenacious, intelligent child who didn’t have a malicious bone in his body. He was always on the go. He loved to play all sports, swim, ride bike, ride scooter, play in his sandbox and play with his favorite person, his sister Katie. Patrick was a great conversationalist and was wise beyond his years. We always said he was an old soul in a little boy’s body.

Our family’s world was turned upside down the Spring of 2011. Patrick had been complaining of headaches and nausea and, after having an MRI, he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor on April 9, 2011. We were referred to Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis and that is where Patrick had his first 2 surgeries. The first surgery involved placing a drain in his brain to alleviate the swelling and pressure being caused by the tumor. The second surgery was to remove the tumor which was deemed a success. It was determined that Patrick would need radiation treatments so it was decided that we would relocate our family to Bloomington, Indiana where he would undergo Proton Beam radiation. We chose Indiana because it was closer than the other clinics available at the time and the clinic catered to Pediatric patients. We packed up a motorhome with a tow car on the back and drove to Indiana where we took up residence in a Jelly Stone Campground at Lake Monroe. We were there for 7 weeks during which Patrick endured 33 rounds of radiation. He was such a trooper and never complained or said he didn’t want to go. Being that he wasn’t “sick”, per say, Mike and I decided we would make an adventure out of the experience, or “Lemonade Out Of Lemons” as they say!!! Patrick would receive his treatments early in the morning and then we would take off for the day for a day of exploring. We went to Indianapolis, IN Louisville, KY , Santa Claus, IN, French Lick, IN and hit all the interesting attractions in those respective cities. We also explored Bloomington and its surrounding areas and Indiana University which is located in Bloomington. We also enjoyed just hanging out at the campground with the families we met, playing games, swimming and creating great family memories.

We returned to St. Cloud and for a year Patrick was cancer free. Unfortunately, in the fall of 2012, Patrick’s tumor came back in the same spot. Surgery was again done, a complete resection was attained, and this time it was decided chemotherapy would be introduced. Surgery was done to implant a port in Patrick’s chest for the chemo and a shunt was placed in his head for the proton radiation which would again be needed. We relocated our family back to Bloomington, IN., this time renting a house. The chemotherapy was done first and was tough, but Patrick remained a trooper throughout the course of his treatment. As soon as the chemo was finished we left for Indiana. That trip was a bit more difficult as Katie and Patrick missed the end of the school year and they didn’t have kids to play with like they had at the campground the first trip down. We spent our 7 weeks there, made more memories as a family and continued to live our lives in a positive way.

Patrick’s body began to change and show the effects of the aggressive treatments he had undergone because of his cancer. His tumors had been located next to his brainstem and his balance was affected as was his speech, swallowing and walking. It became increasingly more difficult for him to walk on his own. Devastatingly, Patrick’s tumor came back and had spread to a new area in his brain in 2014. He underwent 2 brain surgeries at the University of Minnesota but the doctors were not able to resect the whole tumors this time. It was decided that the best chance Patrick had was to again undergo Proton Beam Radiation therapy and chemotherapy, again in Indiana. We were able to rent the same house but this time, Katie did not come as she didn’t want to miss school. Mike, Patrick, CoCo and I drove back and forth between home and Indiana every 2 weeks so we wouldn’t be apart so long. Katie stayed with relatives and friends. It was difficult on us all but, again, our Patrick was a trooper and did everything he needed to to beat the cancer. Through it all, we continued to live every day and not dwell on the fact that Patrick had cancer. His cancer did not define him and he remained sweet, funny, tenacious and a young man of faith.

Unfortunately, the cancer was not to be stopped. By 2017, Patrick had endured 6 brain surgeries, 99 rounds of radiation, numerous hospitalizations, countless rounds of chemo, countless hours of physical, occupational, and speech therapies, a broken leg and weight gain due to steroids. The cancer and treatments robbed Patrick of his ability to walk, talk, eat , use his hands, his hearing and eyesight. Patrick was paralyzed, tube fed, on a ventilator needed hearing aids and glasses and used his eyes by blinking to communicate. Even though his physical body failed him, his beautiful mind was intact and he could communicate his needs in various ways such as blinking, grinding his teeth or chomping down on his toothbrush and not letting go until he got what he wanted. Also, the cancer could not defeat his beautiful soul and he remained peaceful until the very end. On April 3, 2017, Patrick slept away in Mike and my arms, in his bed, in his room with all of his favorite things surrounding him, including his dog’s CoCo and Lucy.

Patrick’s time with us was short but he filled our lives with joy, showed us how to live with grace, and he touched the lives of more people than we can ever know. He was and is our hero and we wait for the day we can be together again with our beautiful boy.