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1/2/10
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7-year-old Dover-Foxcroft boy dies of cancer
BANGOR DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO BY KATE COLLINS
Jonathan Mullis, 7, of Dover-Foxcroft, was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor after being sick for several months. Jonathan lost his battle with cancer Wednesday. Buy Photo
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DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — A spunky little boy who loved baseball and captured the hearts of those he met lost his battle with cancer on Wednesday.
Jonathan Mullis, 7, of Dover-Foxcroft, who had a lifetime of dreams to fulfill, was unable to beat the brain cancer that robbed him of his life.
At one point, it was thought that his early treatment, his positive attitude, and the love extended to him from his family and community were enough to have purged the disease. But even that was not enough in the end.
“He will be missed,” Burke Soileau, a Sebec resident and family friend, said Friday. Soileau, who had given Jonathan an assortment of autographed baseball memorabilia, said he could see from the look in the young boy’s eyes how much he appreciated everything in life.
Karen Goodman, second-grade teacher at SeDoMoCha Elementary School, said Jonathan would come to school with a smile and a positive attitude every morning.
“He was just very friendly, and he was a bright child,” she said.
Jonathan had hardly missed any days of school until he suffered a stroke in early November, she said.
“He’s really going to be missed, that’s for sure,” Goodman said.
In April 2008, the same day Jonathan was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a rare malignant brain tumor, the boy underwent surgery and had all but a tiny bit of the tumor removed. Four days later, he was back home enjoying playtime with his sister, Rachel, then 3.
As an extra precaution, Jonathan also had chemotherapy and radiation treatments to kill the cancer that could not be surgically removed from the brain stem. As the handsome, blue-eyed boy went through his treatment and lost his brown hair, his father, Brian Mullis, shaved his own head to show solidarity.
For Mullis, who serves as Mayo Regional Hospital’s emergency medical services supervisor, the diagnosis was shocking, he said during an interview in 2008.
“I’ve been on the other side of having to deliver bad news to people many times through the years,” and then the table turned, he said. “I don’t really know how to describe [the diagnosis]; it was a shock, it was hard to process anything but the most essential details.”
What was most amazing, Mullis and his wife, Liz, said in the 2008 interview, was that Jonathan was always upbeat about the entire experience. He would rise at 6 a.m. for the trip to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor where he received the treatment, and he never complained, Mullis said.
To Jonathan, the treatments “weren’t that tough.”
“We’ve been very positive and he’s been positive; he inspires us,” Liz Mullis said in the earlier interview.
Just as friends from far and wide reached out and held fundraising activities to help with the family’s expenses, Jonathan also reached out to others. Despite his own illness, Jonathan and his mother were among those working a yard sale last summer in Dover-Foxcroft to benefit a Sebec youngster who had a brain tumor.
“He was just a well-liked and loved boy,” Soileau said. “We’re all going to miss him.”
Because Jonathan loved books, his family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Thompson Free Library, 186 E. Main St., Dover-Foxcroft 04426.
Visiting hours will be from 2 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 6, at Lary Funeral Home in Dover-Foxcroft.
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It breaks my heart to think of what his parents must be feeling right now. He is my daughters age, and I cant even bear to imagine losing her. I am sorry for your loss :*(
I am so sorry to learn of a young life gone too soon. Words can not take your pain away, but you are in my thoughts and prayers.
I can't even think of words to say. God bless you Liz and Brian.
May God be with you during this terrible time of your loss of this very courageous, and inspirational young child. Fly free with the angels, young Jonathan,,,,,
peace be with little jonathan, this is so sad
I don't even know what to say. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Thoughts and prayers are with you. God be with you during this time. Jonathan is up amongst the angels!
My condolences to the family. Why does Maine have the highest incidence of cancer in America?
My condolences to the family. I cannot imagine losing a child to anything at all. I have a son. And I am so blessed to have him alive and well.
Again my condolences and prayers to the family.
My prayers and thoughts are with Jonathan and his family, Every day we have is so precious and one day we are all together and the next we arent. Appreciate every moment like it could be the last. May this little angel rest in peace.
my heart broke to pieces as i read of jons passing, my thoughts and prayers are with the parents and familes at this time of sadness. he has a new home with the angels, and god will surely bless this child, whose been through so much.
May you find peace and comfort knowing your child is with the Lord and suffers no more. God Bless you all.
I am so very sorry to hear of your loss. Please know that
your family is being lifted up in prayer by many. May God
comfort you and give you strength.
Most adults could not handle what this young boy endured. May you rest in peace little man, dancing on the clouds will be a much better place for you.
My heart goes out to his family and friends. Rest in peace little guy.
What a special angel this little boy was.....his family i'm sure was ery proud of him....my special thoughts and prayers are with the family.....god is with you and ask for his help if you need to. Rest in peace you special angel.
This is about the saddest thing I have heard lately. What a wonderful child Jonathan was. I feel so very sorry for his family. People have you in their thoughts.
My condolences and prayers for the family.
On 1/2/10 at 5:39 AM, SnarkyButthead wrote: Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden
My condolences to the family. Why does Maine have the highest incidence of cancer in America?
Snarky: data please. I Googled 'cancer rate by state' and found that Maine ranks 5th for white males, 8th for white females. Data varies widely for type of cancer. For brain cancer (the type sadly in case here) Maine ranks 26th for white males, 47th for white females.
Here you are Gopher: http://emmc.org/splash_championthecure.aspx?id=42112
Just doesn't seem fair.. Rest in peace little guy.. Peace, love, and hugs to your family.
my heart broke when i learned of the death of this young boy it is very sad what he had to endure fly with the angels little boy and give your parents the strength to go on. god bless and be with you
Condolences to the Mullis family!
I am so sorry for the loss of your son. As a parent my heart breaks for you. God Bless...thoughts and prayers are with you both and your family.
My heart goes out to the family.
My condolences to all who knew and loved Johnathan. Cancer is the world's enemy and we must all support research to find a cure. Maybe Johnathan will lend a loving, guiding hand towards this endeavor from Heaven. Bless your family. Thank God , He has you in His loving arms.
Jonathan, you have been set free of your struggle. Bless your sweet, young heart. Watch over your Mom and Dad and help them to one day smile again.
My thoughts and prayers go out to this family.
IS there anything that can be done for this family, any help, please advise. This puts me in tears seeing this in the paper
I guess i just missed the donation part in the story. Will mail a donation to the library, but wondering if the family can use the money too right now,
I hate cancer. To his parents, it's not fair and I'm sorry.
This story just breaks my heart, I started to cry while reading it and had to take a break and come back to it, life is so not fair this litle man had such spirit and LOVE for life while so many of us just take it for granted and are always so angry, maybe if anything good can come out of something as sad and tragic as this is that it will teach us that if this little boy can enjoy life to the fullest as he did, even though he was having chemo, and other treatments, and knew of his illness but was still such a bright light in many proples lives, maybe we can learn from that and when we are having a rough day , think of him and realize it could be so much worse!
MY deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the family of little Jonathan, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers! Just realize you now have a beautiful little angel watching over you now, he is in a great place where he can no longer feel the pain from his cancer, as hard as it is to accept, God must have needed a new little angel, and thought Jonathan would be perfect, as he had such a great attitude toward life, even with all the pain he was in ! God Bless you and your family!
God Bless little Jonathan and his loving family. It takes strength to go through something, as this., and his family is strong.
Rest in peace little man.
What a strong kid its ashame that poor child will never get to enjoy life. Its heart breaking. My heart goes out to the family words cant say enough.