Madison’s Mission: 10-Year-Old Works to Cure Cancer
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JACKSON, Tenn. – On the surface, Madison Dismuke looks like your average 10-year-old. When asked what she did this summer, she is quick to reply that she played competitive soccer and went swimming whenever she could. But if you keep talking with her, you find out she also spent her summer working toward a cure for childhood cancer. How, you might, ask can a seventh grader help cure cancer? To Madison, the answer is simple, raise money. “I’ve raised over $80,000,” she is quick to add. All of that money, raised with the help of her sister Lindsey, 8, is being donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Madison knew about the hospital because her dad’s work had participated in one of St. Jude’s runs in the past, and she wanted to get involved. But on April 3, her mission became much more personal. That was the day she found out her brother Ingram, 3, would become a patient there. “He has anaplastic ependymoma, which is a rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer,” Madison answered, when asked about Ingram’s diagnosis. Just three days after learning about the tumor, doctors at St. Jude performed brain surgery on the toddler. An egg-sized mass was removed. “It was in his fourth ventricle near the brain stem in the cerebellum, which is back here,” Madison says while pointing to the base of her neck. You could say she has become an expert on the cancer that has meant radiation and chemotherapy for Ingram. The 3-year-old has remained remarkably active, slowing only at the height of his chemotherapy. Still the disease has changed him, and it has changed Madison. “I try to be as encouraging as I can,” she said. “I try to help him and play with him but not hurt him, because he gets hurt easily now.” She is his protector, a big sister trying desperately to do more than most girls her age think possible. She truly believes she will cure cancer by raising money for St. Jude with the help of friends and strangers. She needs their help to get rid of the threat that brings tears to her eyes, the thought of losing her only brother. “I cry sometimes when I think that he could die,” she shared. It is that heart breaking fear that fuels Madison’s drive to surpass her $100,000 fundraising goal. It is also what gives her limitless hope that one day she will help cure cancer. If you would like to donate to Madison’s Mission or to keep up with Ingram’s progress, visit their website www.ingramdismuke.com. Click on the “Team Ingram” tab to donate. You can also join “Team Ingram” in the St. Jude Marathon, Half Marathon or 5K in December. There is information on how to do that as well at www.ingramdismuke.com. The Dismuke family actually lives in the Memphis area, but are in Jackson and West Tennessee quite often to visit their grandparents and other close family and friends. Madison, Lindsey and Ingram’s parents Craig and Ashley are both graduates of Union University.
