Dinner will benefit Struthers grad with unknown cancer

By EMMALEE C. TORISK

etorisk@vindy.com

struthers

For the past six weeks, Rich Macklen has had to adjust to living in a nearly empty house.

“I go home and feel alone,” the 23-year-old said.

This wasn’t something he saw coming.

Rich’s 22-year-old brother, Dean Macklen, suffers from a debilitating disease that doctors can neither identify nor cure.

But before Sept. 12, when Dean was first admitted to the hospital, and everything seemingly turned upside down for both him and his family, his life was fairly typical.

The 2009 graduate of Struthers High School was in the midst of his senior year at Youngstown State University, where he majored in geography/geology, and was employed by Sam’s Club in Boardman, where he worked in the tire shop.

On Sept. 12, though, Dean suddenly began to complain of shortness of breath and an increased heart rate, among other symptoms. He went to St. Elizabeth Health Center, where he ended up spending one week.

By the end of that one week, and after a multitude of tests, doctors still couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him.

What they did discover was that a orange-sized tumor had at some point grown underneath his sternum, between his heart and a lung. He also had fluid around his heart and lungs, and spots of cancer all over his liver and spleen.

“That’s where it got rather complicated,” Rich said. “They said, basically, that it was some type of cancer, and they were not able to diagnose it. They said it was the first time they’d ever seen this thing. It’s been up and down ever since.”

And since then, Dean has been a patient at the Cleveland Clinic, and already has endured one round of chemotherapy. Doctors have thrown around a host of possibilities — a germ-cell tumor, sarcoma, a particularly rare form of lymphoma — but haven’t been able to definitively offer a diagnosis, though they’re continuing to try.

From the very beginning of Dean’s hospital stay, though, his friends, family members and even co-workers from Sam’s Club have expressed their desire to get involved, or to do anything they could to help, said Nicole Reeves Hernon, Rich and Dean’s 34-year-old sister.

The siblings, whose parents are Richard and Rebecca Macklen, also have another brother, 16-year-old Samson Macklen.

“So many people want to do something for my family,” she said. “At this point, [his treatment] is up in the air, and we’re not sure what is going to be involved. They’re helping to ease some of the worry from my brother and my parents.”

Dimes for Dean, a benefit dinner that will include auctions and raffles, is being planned for 3 to 8 p.m. Nov. 10 at Struthers High School. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children, with all proceeds going toward Dean’s medical expenses.

Hernon said family members have long maintained that randomly finding a dime means that your guardian angel is around. She thought “Dimes for Dean” would be an appropriate name for the benefit, especially since she’s found them in strange places ever since Dean was admitted to the hospital.

“We view it as a sign he’s being watched over,” Hernon said.

Hernon added that the past few weeks have been difficult but that everyone is “taking it one day at a time.” They’re all worried and scared, she said, but hoping for the best.

Sara Wasacz, who has worked with Dean at Sam’s Club for the past few years, said she was shocked when she found out about Dean’s illness, and knew that she had to do something for her friend.

Wasacz said his family has kept her and other co-workers updated on Dean’s condition, and that she’s hopeful doctors will soon be able to pinpoint what’s wrong with him — and that he’ll make a quick recovery.

“We just miss him,” she said. “We want him to get better.”

For more information about the Dimes for Dean benefit dinner, or to purchase tickets, call Nicole Reeves Hernon at 330-861-2536.