Help Us Honor Dustin Zane Esmond with a Memorial Scholarship Fund

Dear Friends and Family,

We are heartbroken by the loss of our beloved Dustin Zane Esmond.  To know Dustin was to love Dustin.  He had a passion for helping others in their time of need.  He knew from a very young age that he wanted to be a doctor.  He watched his mother go through breast cancer when he was only 7 years old, only to find out that it was more aggressive than they thought in the beginning.  He watched as she endured having to go through it all over again with a stronger chemo and radiation. Dustin knew that whatever field of medicine he went into, it would be to not only treat patients but to get his PHD so that he would be able to do his own research to try and come up with a cure.

During Dustin’s first year of college, he began to experience headaches on a regular basis but brushed it off as a biproduct of studying and reading so much for school.  After going to the Optometrist thinking that he would end up with glasses and it would take care of the problem, we quickly learned that Dustin had a pseudo cerebri tumor, which is a disorder that causes increased pressure inside the skull, or intracranial pressure (ICP).  This would cause a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain.  I cannot tell you of the countless times he had to go to the hospital to have spinal taps done just to try and get some relief from the pressure.

Ultimately Dustin ended up at Johns Hopkins Brain Tumor Center in Baltimore, Maryland and was accepted into their research program. There was not much known about this tumor at the time because it was predominately found in women, not men.  Dustin had to have a bolt put into the top of his skull to measure the pressure so they could decide on an action plan.  After many months of research (all while still doing his studies) he was referred to a surgeon at Penn State in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  He was able to have the surgery performed which included putting two stints in the top of his brain.  This was a very risky surgery, but Dustin believed that this would be his only hope to continue the path of fulfilling his dream to becoming a doctor. 

After enduring all the trauma from the surgery, he did not detour from what he believed was his true calling.  He graduated from UT Tyler with his bachelor’s degree in biology and two minors (Chemistry and Bio-Chemistry).  He graduated top of his class with the highest distinction (Summa Cum Laude).

Dustin went on to get his master’s degree in Biochemistry at UT Tyler.  He was offered a position to teach a lab and an instructional position in the classroom. The students there seemed to really enjoy learning from Dustin because he had a way of making everything seem exciting.  In January 2023 he went to work for Argon Research Facility in Athens, Texas. Dustin seemed very happy and was thriving in his new surroundings as he was preparing for Medical School.

Unfortunately, before Dustin could realize his dream of becoming a Doctor/PhD, he was in a motorcycle accident where the person driving the car ran a stop sign.  Dustin still had so much to give to this world and his community with his vast knowledge of medicine and his belief in the power of education.

To ensure that Dustin’s memory and legacy lives on, we are creating the Dustin Zane Esmond Memorial Scholarship Fund. We are giving out scholarships for students who are going into the medical field.  Dustin touched countless lives with his kindness and infectious spirit.

All donations will be going to the scholarship fund to try and make this world a better place, like Dustin was trying to do. Please help us keep his memory alive by donating.