Dakota's Army: A Mother's Story

When Alicia Dixon's son Dakota was six, a headache and a facial droop sent them to the ER. She read his CT results off her own phone before the doctors reached the room — and knew, with her medical background, exactly what she was looking at. It was an aggressive brain cancer, and there was no time to waste.

In this episode of Life on Pause, Alicia tells Dakota's story herself — the seven-year-old "spitfire genius" he was before cancer, the eight months and three stem-cell transplants that followed, and the moment a Four Diamonds social worker told her she'd never see a bill. She shares the hardest parts too: her son telling her he was going to die before she was ready to hear it, the peace she found in his final days, and the care package he dreamed up from his hospital bed for the kids in the rooms around him — the Dakota Duffel, "and don't forget my Jesus doll."

Dakota died on May 13, 2024, at seven years old. His mom won't call it losing. The movement his wish became, Dakota's Army, is now tens of thousands strong — and still sending duffels to families across the country.

We're sharing this episode for National Bereaved Parents Month. It touches on the death of a child; please listen with care. And know that Alicia shared all of it so another family might feel a little less alone.

Life on Pause is produced by Penn State Health and supported by Four Diamonds — which covers 100% of childhood cancer care costs insurance doesn't, so eligible families never receive a bill. New episodes monthly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Watch the full episode on YouTube

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