Lampasas High School Class of 2004 to host benefit event for classmate on Oct. 14
Dale Hull was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer on March 3, 2022. Despite being given only two to three months to live, Hull is still here after 580-plus days.
Through it all, Hull said he has remained positive and kept his faith in God. The Lampasas High School graduate is always up for a challenge, he added.
“Knowing you have minimal time, why would you spend it depressed and sad, especially when you have three sons looking at you,” Hull said. “It is mind over matter, and that is something my doctor tells me every time: ‘You have one of the strongest minds, and that is why I’m convinced you are still alive.’ ” Prior to being diagnosed with cancer, Hull said he struggled with abdominal pain for about a year. Six months before the somber diagnosis, he had scans that came back negative for cancer.
Hull, however, knew something was wrong. The only way to fix his issue was through his faith.
“I told my wife we need to go to church. I need hands laid on me,” he said. “We got ready to go to church with our three kids, and I couldn’t make it.”
Hull said he was admitted into the emergency room at Ascension Seton Williamson in Round Rock, where shortly afterward he learned he had stage 4 colon cancer. He described it like a scene out of a movie, with the doctor pulling up a chair to his bed to tell him the unfortunate news.
“I had a conversation with God, and I said, ‘Well God, I was born two to three months premature, I had heart surgery three months ago and made it through that.’ And then I said, ‘Good Lord, we are going to figure out how to make it through this.’ ” Hull’s cancer spread from his cecum to his transverse colon, then proceeded to attack his liver and hip. He said the cancer continues to grow larger and larger. Although doctors recommended Hull take it easy, he still finds time to golf twice a week.
He credited his faith in God as the key to his strength through the battle with his disease.
“I don't know how I could have this mindset without the help of God,” Hull said.
As of now, chemotherapy no longer is having any effect on his cancer. He is participating in clinical trials for future colon cancer therapies, but positive effects from those experimental therapies are not guaranteed.
HULL BENEFIT
On Saturday, a fundraising event will take place at the Lampasas County Show Barn, starting at 11 a.m., to benefit Hull and help with his medical expenses. The event will include live music, barbecue and a cornhole tournament.
The fundraiser was organized by a few of Hull’s former LHS classmates.
“It was a couple of us classmates from 2004,” Keith McGough said. “We got together on Facebook Messenger group and started spit-balling some ideas to get it together in such a short amount of time.”
McGough said he is amazed by Hull’s continuous positivity despite the diagnosis.
“When we are around people, I am surprised how he can stay so positive,” McGough said. “It is really amazing how uplifting and positive he stays at all times.”
Hull is 37 and has a birthday on Nov. 30. He is hopeful the fundraiser can assist with future funeral needs and help finish construction on a home in Lampasas for his wife, Kalyn, and their three sons, Brodie, Grayson and Dale Hull Jr.
Those who would like to donate but are unable to attend the Oct. 14 event may call McGough at 254-415-1753, or Aliana Menendez at 512-734-3024 for more information on how to help.
