Below is an outstanding article written by Jill Nolen of the Troy University Tropolitan.

Remembering Steven... Friends, family remember TROY student’s battle with leukemia

Jill Nolin
News Editor

He was given a second birthday in December, however, he will not make it to his first birthday party. Steven P. Dobarzynski, more commonly known as “Dobar” to those who knew him, died Monday March 25 after a seven month battle with leukemia. The sophomore computer hobbyist was diagnosed on August 9 with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia with Philadelphia Positive Chromosome, the most severe type. He received a bone marrow transplant Dec. 20 at UAB Hospital, which is considered his medical birthday. On the eve of his death, Dobarzynski experienced subcutaneous emphysema, which means his body had gone through all it could take and his organs were failing. His parents later discovered that his website went down about the same time. The website was used to post daily updates about Dobarzynski’s illness and it was also used as a gateway for people to post encouraging messages in the site’s guest book. Dobarzynski would sometimes stay up late on his laptop, and his doctors said he is the first patient they have ever seen to operate a laptop while connected to a ventilator.

When working with patients, there is always a special one that nurses will remember and many of Dobarzynski's nurses said he would be their one, according to his mother. His courage and mental strength commanded the respect of those around him. The transplant had been successful and his body cured of cancer, but the side effects of the treatment proved too much and he died due to complications with the transplant.

“It’s a very, very tragic and horrible disease, and the treatment is very brutal,” said Ralph Ford, director of the Sound of the South of which Dobarzynski was a member. “After they give you the bone marrow transplant, they have to keep fighting to keep you alive,” he said.

Reservation Forms are sent to band members each year regarding band camp, and Ford remembers Dobarzynski as being the first to respond and he also recalls how excited the beginning freshman was to join the band. Dobarzynski, who had been participating in band since junior high, played the trombone for Troy University during his freshman year.

“Steven was one of the best members we’ve ever had in Sound of the South,” Ford said. “He was dependable, had a great personality, and he worked well with others. He made a great contribution to the program, and we’re going to miss him,” he said. Bridget Cabrera, a sophomore music education major, knew Dobarzynski since junior high and the two have always been in band together. “Ever since I’ve known him, he’s always liked band. He’s a very musical person, very talented. “He did everything he could with anything he could. It’s really sad,” Cabrera said.

His character and talent got him into Kappa Kappa Psi, an honorary band fraternity that Ford said is “pretty selective” when considering new recruits. “He didn’t smoke or drink. He was just a very strong person. “It’s hard to describe him. He was very unique. He made us laugh,” said Reginald Ryles, a fraternity brother who crossed with Dobarzynski. “I really didn’t get to know him like I wanted to, because of all the stuff that happened and only over a couple of months. “I am really going to miss him,” he said. Ryles said he is going to miss his smile the most. “We all thought he was doing good. I had heard he was doing real good before Spring Break. “And then I got the news,” Ryles said. Before the summer Dobarzynski became sick, Ryles remembers seeing him walk his dog, Bo Bo, every day from George Wallace to Collegedale Apartments. “We refer to each other as family, and, in some cases, we treat each other better than family,” Ryles said.

His fellow band members described Dobarzynski as “outgoing.” Cory Sisco, a junior marketing major, said he was the first to meet Dobarzynski, who was then still in high school. The two met through AOL instant messenger and talked for six months via computers. “We talked for half a year, and I never saw his face until he came here,” Sisco said. Later on Sisco also became Dobarzynski’s fraternity brother. “In all honesty, he is the strongest person I have ever known. When the average person would crumble and cry, he took it like it was nothing,” Sisco said. The sick Dobarzynski experienced six hemorrhages in his lungs and survived all six, while most people do not survive one. “Very rarely does someone survive one, but he survived six. And that’s not even what killed him,” Sisco said. While Dobarzynski was pledging into the band fraternity, he was also inducted into the freshman honor society. Kappa Kappa Psi brothers are planning a charity step show in an effort to raise money for Steven’s parents and for cancer research. The step show will be held April 19. Further details regarding the event will be released at a later day. Dobarzynski’s parents request that contributions be made in his name to the Marrow Foundation (1-800-Marrow2).

The following was written by Brother Wilks after Steven's passing:

To the friends and family of Steven, I thank you for molding him into the person he became. He has touched many lives and can still touch many more by the stories of his courage and endurance through all his trials and tribulations. He motivated me to do my best in what I attempt and I attribute many things to him. That is very good seeing as how I never even met him in person, I only talked to him online and heard of him through other sources. But what I was really posting about was to first thank God for Steven and is unconquerable spirit and soul in dealing with his illness. Everytime I talked to Steven online, he never once seemed sad or upset about what he has had to go through, which is a very strong quality because he didn't do anything to deserve what he went through, it was mearly circumstance. It seemed as though odds and chances of getting out of this never were in his favor, yet he held his head up and never quit. Steven has moved on into the unknown but I am sure that he is in a much better place than here, a place with no anger or sadness. A place of bliss and joy, something that Steven deserves and has earned. What amazes me about Steven is that it seems as though he could have toiled through his pains for years if it led to a chance of getting passed it, and he would have done it all the same as he has dealed with it up to now, with a fearless attitude and a bit of good humor. Even though he passed on by a path which seemed unfair, a path filled with undesearving punishment, he definatly proved to me that a person can control their fate and soul. You are in good hands and I only pray that you have been able to affect more people with the story of your life. You did strived for the stars and although the goal you were aiming for was not accomplished, you have done well and done more than anyone could have asked of you. I will keep your courage in the face of difficulties in my heart and will do my best to apply that to my life. Thank you.

Riley Wilks
#4, ALB
Spring 2002