National Payton Slaymaker Day 2023: Date, History, Facts about D.I.P.G.

National Payton Slaymaker Day is observed annually on March 11 in honour of Payton Slaymaker, a Claypool, Indiana native who died of a rare form of brain cancer at the age of 10 in 2021. In 2019, she was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (D.I.P.G. ), an aggressive malignancy that led to the development of an inoperable tumour. Her condition and battle against the disease have garnered support throughout the United States, with many being inspired by her courage in the face of insurmountable obstacles. Her story has helped raise D.I.P.G.’s profile.

The background of National Payton Slaymaker Day

Payton 17 October 2010 in Elkhart, Indiana, Allie Slaymaker was born to Kimberly Allison Slaymaker and Andrew Lee Slaymaker. She was named after the famed quarterback for the National Football League. The news that she was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour in 2019 and sentenced to a tragically brief life spread across the nation, bringing her name to the forefront. She fought the notoriously fatal diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (D.I.P.G. ), an aggressive form of childhood cancer that originates in the brainstem and effects vital human functions including breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

When she was diagnosed, she was in the fourth grade. Her parents initially described her condition on Facebook and continued to do so until her passing. Support and awareness progressively increased as a result of these posts, first on a local level and then reaching millions of hearts across the nation. Since then, numerous fundraisers, tributes, and events have been held in her honour in all fifty states. Two years later, she tragically succumbed to the illness, passing away peacefully surrounded by her family. Funds, messages of support, and even artistic tributes flooded in from across the nation as a form of remembrance. After her passing, National Payton Slaymaker Day was established.

After receiving her diagnosis, she chose to continue living a normal life and did not allow her illness to prevent her from doing the things she enjoyed. Her loved ones remember her as a “beautiful little girl with a large smile” who enjoyed singing, dancing, and joking. The solidarity surrounding her demonstrates how profoundly her story resonated in the hearts of her fellow humans.

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5 INTERESTING DETAILS ABOUT D.I.P.G.

Initial symptoms of D.I.P.G. include erratic eye movements, persistent lethargy, slurred speech, difficulty maintaining balance, and swallowing difficulties.

D.I.P.G. accounts for approximately 10% of all malignancies of the central nervous system in children.

Each year, between 150 and 300 minors are diagnosed with D.I.P.G. in the United States.

Less than 10% of infants with DIPG survive two years following diagnosis.

Karen Armstrong (daughter of astronaut Neil Armstrong) and Lauren Hill, a collegiate basketball player, are two notable individuals who have also experienced D.I.P.G.