Hartland Support Helps Bring Hope and Thankfulness to Local Family

It’s hard to find things to be thankful for when parents hear for the second time in less than two years that their child has cancer, but this Thanksgiving, John and Tracy Dybalski say the thing they are most thankful for is every moment they get to spend with their 5-year-old son, Mitchell. 

“The moment I saw his face, he changed my world and has made me a better person,” Tracy Dybalski said. “He continues to amaze me every day with random interactions with people he meets.” 

A kindergartner at Village Elementary, Mitchell has been battling a form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma since 2012. It was a fight the family thought they had won until earlier this month when doctors gave them the most devastating news for the second time in their lives. 

“We asked about the results from the screen tests and the doctor said “unfortunately,” Tracy Dybalski said. “Worst word ever.”

It’s a word that “knocked the wind out” all over again and once again changed their lives and the world of their son who they call a true inspiration and a "one-of-a-kind little boy with an old soul."

“And this time it was worse,” Tracy Dybalski said. “A lot worse.”

According to Mitchell’s parents, a relapse of this kind has a very poor prognosis with less than a 5 percent chance of survival.

It’s those odds that had the family struggling with hope, angry at the world and on the verge of giving up on humanity. Until a small community stepped up and helped restore their faith.

A special community

Earlier this month, Mitchell's school organized a hat drive and the money raised from that one single event was not only a shock to the family, but a blessing. 

Moving to Hartland four years ago and not having their children in the school system yet, the Dybalski’s say they hadn’t realized what a special community they were living in until complete strangers “wrapped their arms around them.” 

“People really do care,” Tracy Dybalski said. “When our lives have been so dark and we can’t find a lot of the thankful for and then the school just rallies and puts it’s arms around us, it just injected me with some positivity that was just really tough to find.”

After 18 months of being totally focused on Mitchell and their 3- year-old daughter, John and Tracy admit to “letting everything else fall away.”

The house, bills and careers became unimportant, leaving Tracy and John completely focused on hospital visits and medical treatments while still creating as “normal” as world as possible for their daughter.

John Dybalski took a leave of absence from his job to care daily for Mitchell, spending countless hours beside him at the hospital. The family of four was left with just Tracy’s income but they were determined to keep their situation private, not wanting to have a “spotlight” on their lives.

“It wasn’t easy,” John Dybalski said. “But it looked like we were going to win.”

And when it seemed like they had the finish line in sight, the family began making plans for a festive holiday season, making up for one they felt they had missed the year before. 

Getting a "jolt" of hope

“But when all this happened again, that was when my first plea came out and I guessed we were going to need help,” Tracy Dybalski said. “I felt like, now I’m desperate and there’s such a small chance and I don’t want to spend my time working."

Calling it a whole different “stratosphere” the couple decided to finally reach out to family and friends for support.

And when word began to spread at Village Elementary, a school Mitchell had only been able to attend for a few weeks, the unconditional outpouring of support from complete strangers is what helped put a “jolt” of hope back into the lives of the family.

Wanting to thank the community for their "very generous" financial support, the couple say that the emotional impact of having complete strangers care about their family is what they are truly thankful for this season.

"They have given us hope," Tracy said. "And I'm just holding on to a little string of hope that he'll surprise them again with a good response and good results."

How to help Mitchell

A community fundraiser for Mitchell will take place on Dec. 6 at Village Elementary. "Movies for Mitchell" starts at 6:30 p.m. and checks can be made out to "Mitchell's Mission." 

Donations can also be made to the family online. For more information, check out the Facebook page dedicated to Mitchell's Mission.