Dexter Bezayiff
Dexter Bezayiff was born on January 15th to dad Ben and mom Tanya. He is the second of four kids and an incredible little brother to Luke and big brother to Ford and baby sister, Maise.
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Dexter has a big personality and loves to have fun. His favorite ways to spend time are playing video games and tearing it up on the soccer field. He is a fan of legos, having movie nights with his family and loves going to the ocean. His mom and dad describe him the most as caring and kind-hearted but he is also a true prankster. In fact, they could tell he was feeling better when he pranked one of his doctors with a rubber snake!
Diagnosis
Like so many other families, the Bezayiff family had never heard of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma before Dexter's diagnosis. In October of 2023, the first concerning symptom they noticed was that Dexter was having weakness on his right side and eventually the right side of his face began to droop. Where they live in northern California is several hours from major medical centers so they took Dexter to the emergency department in Sacramento for evaluation. That visit showed a mass on Dexter's brainstem and they received the heartbreaking news that it was DIPG and inoperable with no known cure or effective treatment options.
That started their journey into the world of DIPG and Dexter's treatment began with a brain biopsy and then six weeks of palliative radiation at UC Davis. During that course of treatment, the family had to live apart while Dad cared for Dexter's brothers at home and Mom, Dexter and baby sister Maise navigated Dexter's radiation treatments in the Sacramento area. After completing initial treatment, Dexter enrolled in a clinical trial in San Francisco and the Bezayiff family focused on making memories together, including Dexter's Make-A-Wish trip to LegoLand! After several months, Dexter began to experience symptoms and underwent a second round of radiation in July of 2024 in hopes of improving his symptoms and increasing his quality of life. ​​
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​The Bezayiff family is an incredible example of finding joy every day and loving each other big through it all and the Archer Foundation is proud to support them as they stand together for more good days with Dexter.
