“He had a couple of pretty good months after that,” said his mother, Melinda Chandler. “His counts were declining, but he appeared strong and his attitude was great. He always had a positive attitude and if he were suffering, he never let anyone know.
“It wasn’t until the last week or so that he showed his decline. The Saturday before he died, he went to a ‘Star Wars’ movie,” she said. “He lived a lot longer than anyone thought he would.”
His mother said that Chandler was an inspiration to all who met him because of his optimistic outlook in spite of his illness.
“You always hear what a negative place this world is, but Dalton never saw that,” she said. “He saw a beautiful place because of the support people gave him.”
And because the Christmas visit from the firefighters meant so much to him, his mother said that she and her family plan to honor his memory by “paying it forward” by seeking out a family in need because of a sick child and make their Christmas just as special.
“That was his extreme desire, because so much had been done for him,” Chandler said. “People he didn’t even know reached out to make his dreams come true.”
In addition to his mother and sisters, he is survived by his grandparents, Paul and Elise Houston, Yvonne Chandler, and Christie and Steve Chandler; his aunts and uncles, Amy and Jason Minges, and Paul and Jenny Houston; his cousins, Mason, Morgan, and Kate Minges and Cole and Ella Houston; and his best friend, his dog Lola. He is preceded in death by his cousin, Emily Minges.
Memorials may be made on behalf of the family to Charles C. Young Funeral Home, P.O. Box 128, Ross, Ohio 45061 or to Star Shine Hospice, at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, P.O. Box 5202, Cincinnati, OH 45201-5202.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.
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