Meet Dawson, who didn’t allow cancer to get in the way of becoming a cowboy

There’s no question about what Dawson wants to do when he grows up.

“Certainly, a cowboy,” he said. “I love being a cowboy!”

Dawson, who often sports a "10-gallon hat," belted jeans, a tucked-in shirt and boots, enjoys riding his four-wheeler, watching his dad, Treven, lasso and playing outside with his cousins, sometimes in the mud.

“It’s muddy, you can splash in it,” he said. “That’s funny as heck.”

Shortly after celebrating Christmas in 2023, Dawson started having stomach issues. His parents took him to a pediatrician, who said it could be gluten intolerance. But cutting out foods from his diet that contained gluten didn’t help much.

His pediatrician suspected Dawson could be experiencing constipation, but an X-ray proved otherwise. Meanwhile, his parents noticed a growing list of symptoms.

At home, Dawson experienced stomach cramps and a low appetite. Although he was usually full of energy, he suddenly didn’t want to play as much. There were even a couple of days he didn’t want to leave the couch.

After another test failed to answer the family’s questions, their pediatrician referred them to Children’s Health, where physicians at its Pediatric Gastroenterology department could better help Dawson.

After a two-hour drive from their hometown to Children’s Medical Center Dallas, physicians ran a full range of tests and got to know Dawson, who tested positive for Giardia, a microscopic parasite that can cause intestinal infections.

They prescribed him medication to fight the parasite, and his family left the hospital feeling relieved.

“We were expecting, hoping that’s all it was,” his mom, Samantha, said. “But about halfway through the medication, Dawson’s pain intensified. It just skyrocketed.”

His mom then noticed a bulge in his stomach, so they rushed him back to Children’s Health, where physicians detected an intestinal obstruction after performing an abdominal X-ray and ultrasound.

After failing to push the trapped bowel back to its normal position through a minimally invasive procedure, physicians had to go in surgically.

That’s when they found a fist-sized clump of lymph nodes.

Physicians removed about six inches of Dawson’s small intestine, four inches of his large intestine and his appendix. They also sent the tumor off for a biopsy.

Three days later, physicians diagnosed Dawson with Stage 3 Burkitt lymphoma, a rare and aggressive type of cancer.

Keeping spirits high

Almost suddenly, Dawson began receiving rounds of chemotherapy as part of a 12-week-long treatment plan.

His care journey was intense, with much of his time spent in the hospital due to symptoms from treatment, but Dawson kept his spirits high and never failed to spread joy among his care team.

He usually could be seen walking around the hospital in his gown, paired with boots and a cowboy hat.

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Even if he was hurting or experiencing a fever from the chemo, he would still make his nurse giggle. He was always wanting to go to the playroom. He and his dad are also into remote control cars, so we'd bring up his little RC car and he'd drive it in the hallways — the nurses and child life specialists loved that.

— Samantha, Dawson's Mom

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Playrooms at Children’s Health are managed by Child Life team members, who help ensure patients and their families have a positive experience at the hospital. Their offerings include pet, music and art therapy and rely on philanthropic support.

The services provide patients with comfort in an unfamiliar environment and during challenging moments.

After a Child Life assistant learned Dawson loved to play with Nerf Blasters, she brought Dawson eight, along with hundreds of foam darts.

Dawson battled her and other care team members around the nurse station.

“We had a Nerf war. The doctor got me. I tried to get them — and I always got them,” Dawson said with a smile. “There was a whole bunch of people joining in. That gave me something to play with, and I got to keep them. I have, like, a million Nerf guns now.”

His care team members were always up to play with Dawson. They were also patient with him during some of his most difficult days and made themselves available to the family if they had questions.

“They would do so many little things just to get a smile and a laugh out of him,” Samantha said. “They really do care about the kids.”

Back to the outdoors

Toward the end of May in 2024, Dawson went into remission and, about a month later, he got to ring the bell to mark the end of his chemotherapy treatment. As always, he was dressed to impress.

“My mom and dad came with me and there was, like, a big bell and I rang it, and it kind of went like, “Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding, dong,” Dawson said laughing. “That was funny.”

Dawson, now 5 years old, is an outdoorsman through and through, and he isn’t afraid of getting messy. He loves fishing, four-wheelers and helping his pawpaw with whatever project he’s got going on — he even has his own red toolbox.

“I got a secret — there’s something else,” Dawson said. “I even like playing in the mud. Mud is pretty much my favorite.”

One day, he wants to participate at a rodeo’s mutton busting event — in which kids, who wear a helmet and some gear, ride or race sheep and try to hold on for as long as they can.

Dawson also looks forward to start working with his dad as a handyman when he grows up, and he can’t wait to master the art of lassoing.

“That’s the spirit,” his dad, Treven, said.