A young man’s fight against cancer got a boost last week from a downtown Oxford business and its customers.

Downtown Oxford’s 5-1 Diner donated $500 to help Dylan Middleton, a 21-year-old Oxford resident diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic (or Lymphocytic) Leukemia, also known as ALL, on July 30.

Of that total, $375 represents a portion of the diner’s Aug. 30 sales. Diner owner Nicole Ellsworth kicked in the rest.

The money will be used to help pay Dylan’s medical bills, prescription costs and other health-care expenses.

Dylan is the son of Troy Middleton, pastor of Bible Baptist Church in Brandon Township, and his wife, Sandra. He’s one of their nine children, ranging in age from 2 to 23.

“They have such a big family,” Ellsworth said. “We just wanted to reach out and do something to help them.”

“I thought it was wonderful,” Troy said. “We’ve never had anyone do (anything like this) before. It’s a real blessing and an encouragement to my son.”

“It always warms my heart to hear how grateful people are for the stuff that we do,” Ellsworth said. “It makes it all worthwhile.”

Just prior to Dylan’s diagnosis, Troy said “he was sick for about a week,” then one day, he passed out while standing and was unconscious “for several minutes.”

Dylan was taken to an emergency room to find out what happened.

Tests showed his white blood cell count was “extremely low,” according to Troy. Testing of his bone marrow revealed Dylan has ALL.

ALL is a type of cancer that forms in bone marrow, then invades the blood where it can spread to other parts of the body. It’s called “acute” because the cancer “can progress quickly and if not treated,” it can be “fatal within a few months,” according to the American Cancer Society.

“There’s been colon cancer in the family, but nothing like leukemia,” Troy said.

“He’s had a good attitude (about it),” Troy noted. “His spirits have been good. His faith in Christ really helps him out.”

Since the diagnosis, Dylan has completed five rounds of chemotherapy, the last of which was Aug. 31.

Unfortunately, that same day, Dylan was informed the chemotherapy is going to increase to “four rounds every week for the next month,” according to Troy.

Dylan is the third oldest of the nine Middleton children. His twin brother, Tyler, who’s only 13 minutes older, started a GoFundMe page. The goal is to collect $10,000 to help Dylan.

Although Dylan has cancer, he is not defined by the disease. He’s a young man who’s very active in his father’s church, plays several instruments and attends Maranatha Baptist University online. He’s planning to graduate in the spring with an associate’s degree in graphic design. Prior to the diagnosis, Dylan was working for FedEx as a package handler and for Saber Building Services.

Troy wanted “everyone to know how grateful” he and his family are to the 5-1 Diner and all the folks who patronized it during the fund-raiser. “It’s greatly appreciated,” he said.

He’s also grateful to the diner for recently providing a free meal for his entire family.

“They delivered it to our house,” Troy said. “That was a tremendous blessing. They went above and beyond.”