Sick boy continues his battle

Deirdre Newman

Tony Morrell will be home for Christmas.

The 9-year-old, who is fighting an inoperable brain tumor, is in

the hospital with pneumonia, but was to be home by Christmas Eve, his

grandmother Betty Dugan said.

Tony and his parents got back from Texas on Friday. They were

there so he could receive experimental cancer treatment at the

Burzynski Clinic in Houston.

“It means so much that he’s been able to make it this far, and we

hope he will be able to have more Christmases,” Betty Dugan said.

In August, Tony was diagnosed with a tumor in his brain stem. He

underwent chemotherapy and radiation for six weeks -- five days a

week for four to five hours a day.

Tony and his parents spent about two weeks at the clinic in Texas.

His cancer was so advanced that doctors there started him on the

second phase of the treatment -- an all-day IV pump, which costs

about $8,000 a month. At the clinic, his parents, Bill Morrell and

Carol Dugan, learned how to administer the pump so they could do it

at home.

But they had to stop the treatment when Tony came down with

pneumonia. It’s too early to tell if the treatment he has received so

far is working, Betty Dugan said. He looks about the same, except

that his face is a little fuller because the doctors increased the

amount of the steroid he is taking, she said.

Tony received an outpouring of support from the community after

his story ran in the Daily Pilot in November. His grandparents have

collected more than $15,000 in donations for his treatment so far,

Betty Dugan said.

“I want to thank everybody for their prayers and for their

contributions to help Tony,” she said. “[Almost] everybody sent notes

in with their checks ... offering their prayers and encouragement,

and we just appreciate that so much.”

Betty Dugan said the family received checks for amounts from $20

to $5,000. One check came from a businessman who had read the story

before leaving on a business trip and had kept thinking about Tony

until he could get home and send the check, she said. Another came

from a woman in Virginia who had read the story while she was in the

Newport-Mesa area before she flew home.

“I had people just calling to tell me about experiences they had

had,” Betty Dugan said. “It was very encouraging.”

The Boys & Girls Club of Newport Beach has also offered to hold a

carwash and bake sale after Christmas to raise money for Tony, she

said.

“I want to thank everybody from the bottom of our hearts for

everything they’ve done,” Betty Dugan said.