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Dylan's Story
Our Mission: Improve treatment options and outcomes for osteosarcoma warriors by:
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Sharing Dylan’s joyful passion for LEGO®
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Offering kids an easy way to make a difference in beating cancer
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Providing an environmentally responsible way to recycle toys
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Through the love of LEGO®, encouraging the problem solvers, imaginative thinkers, creative minds of tomorrow who one day might find a cure for cancer!
Dylan, the youngest of three brothers, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his left humerus in January 2016, when he was nine years old. He battled through four recurrences until his disease advanced aggressively beyond possible treatment options. During his 5+ years battling this terrible disease, Dylan demonstrated incredible strength, courage, and optimism. He never stopped fighting and never gave up hope. He lived by his credo “I will always be strong enough to pick myself up no matter what,” and inspired others with his resilience, joyful spark, and grace.
In addition to cooking, playing video games, and cuddling with his dog Buster, Dylan’s two big passions were superheroes (especially Ironman, The Flash, and anything from the Marvel Universe) and LEGO®. So you can imagine the fun he had with the LEGO superhero sets!
Though Dylan loved LEGO® from a very young age, they became an even bigger part of our lives after he was diagnosed. After surgery, Dylan had limited use of his left arm and could not fully participate in some sports and activities he had enjoyed before his diagnosis. However, LEGO® was always something he could enjoy, and in fact, he built many sets during his hospital stays. While lengthy hospital stays for chemotherapy or surgery are not exactly fun events, we would pick out LEGO® sets for each stay and it actually gave us something to look forward to! Regardless of where we were, building LEGO® together was always a happy distraction.
A couple of years into Dylan’s diagnosis when he had no evidence of disease, we visited LEGO® House in Billund, Denmark which was a highlight and memory that we will always cherish. For any LEGO® fan, Billund is worth a pilgrimage. In addition to spending many fun, engaging hours in the stunning LEGO® House, we were able to visit the original home of the LEGO® founder, the LEGO® vault which houses a copy of every LEGO® ever made (in addition to about 6 other undisclosed locations around the world!), and walk a factory floor. We were inspired by the LEGO® philosophy, corporate values, and history. The LEGO® family home and factory burned down three times, and each time the family simply rebuilt the factory and continued on to bigger and better things. It was a great lesson about dealing with adversity - pick yourself up and keep going.
Over time, Dylan became an avid collector of minifigures, particularly Ironman, and a Bricklink customer, happily shopping for parts to build special sets.
Inspired by Dylan’s life to do whatever we can to improve treatment options and outcomes for osteosarcoma patients, we wanted to share his love of LEGO® with others and direct the proceeds to osteosarcoma research. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to The Dylan Toma Osteosarcoma Research Fund to advance treatment options and help other osteosarcoma patients bravely battling this terrible disease.
Aside from all the joyful memories he gifted us, Dylan continues to inspire us daily, and we hope to share his superhero legend, inspiring courage, resilience, and kindness in others.