Lasting tribute for late boy, 9
School library to be named for boy who died of brain cancer
When Andrew and Caroline Brooks’ son Dillon, 9, died last summer of brain cancer, they wanted to find a way to memorialize him.
To honor what would have been Dillon’s10th birthday, they recently organized the inaugural Dillon’s Day, collecting gift cards and toys for local pediatric patients.
Pembroke Pines commissioners had a more permanent idea, unanimously voting to name the library at Dillon’s school the Dillon Brooks Media Center at Pembroke Pines Charter FSU Campus.
Commissioner Jay Schwartz, who suggested the dedication, wants to see the plaque presented before the end of the school year.
“He would have really gotten a kick out of this. He really loved that school,” said Andrew Brooks, a Pembroke Pines police detective. “To memorialize him in that way is absolutely overwhelming.”
The police department and the city rallied around the Brooks fam- ily after Dillon was diagnosed in August 2013 with stage 4 glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive, malignant brain tumor.
His father called it “basically, the worst day of my life.”
Sporting “Team Dillon” shirts, supporters participated in fundraisers, such as softball games and family fun events.
“Beyond the horrible loss was a community coming together for a young man,” said Commissioner Angelo Castillo. “That’s what we do in Pembroke Pines.”
Dillon underwent multiple surgeries and rounds of radiation, always keeping a big smile on his face
He participated in a clinical trial in Boston, where they were able to remove most of the tumor. However, six months later, the tumor had spread to other parts of Dillon’s brain.
“It’s unfathomable for a parent to go through it,” Brooks said. “You don’t have a choice; you just do it.”
Dillon returned to school for a few months before his condition deteriorated. He died in July 2014.
“We all loved him much,” said Principal very Lisa Libidinsky.
It’s not lost on Brooks that the first book he read to his only child was about Florida State University, and now Dillon’s school, which is affiliated with FSU, will bear Dillon’s name.
“Every day is a struggle,” he said. “The effect he’s had on people since he’s passed, that ’s where I get strength to carry on.” Fallan Patterson can be reached at fpatterson@ tribune.com.
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