VAN ALSTYNE, Texas — His grandkids, all 13 of them, call him Poppy. And their time with him, they call "Poppy's World." Now, they are asking for help to give that world a little more time.
Earlier this year Dale Ingram, a 45-year police veteran and a detective with the Van Alstyne Police Department, was diagnosed with grade 4 glioblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor that doctors determined to be inoperable due to its location and the risks involved to remove it.
"He knows full what he's facing," his daughter Whitney Ingram told WFAA of the recommendations for chemotherapy and standard radiation treatments that offered no guarantee of a cure.
"More time," she said of what she and her four siblings want most for their father, who remarried just this past June after losing his first wife to an extended illness in January of 2023.
"I don't think he's fulfilled everything that God's put him here to do," Whitney Ingram said. "I'm not ready to let go of him. So, just more time."
To get an improved chance at more time, his doctor wanted to use proton beam therapy: high doses of focused radiation to shrink the tumor. But Ingram's insurance company, in a cost-benefit analysis, said no.
"This treatment has not been shown to be preferred and effective for your stage and diagnosis," his insurance carrier wrote in its final denial.
"He's helped so many people. And if anybody deserves the help or a little extra time, it would be the one who has helped so many for so long," his daughter said.
"We have a community who needs and deserves an officer like him. To be there, to serve them," said Bethany Budgewater with the Van Alstyne Police Association which is raising the estimated $30,000 the proton beam therapy is expected to cost at the Oklahoma Proton Center in Oklahoma City.
Ingram began treatments last week, he will receive a total of 33 radiation treatments over the course of a month-and-a-half, but Budgewater says the treatment plan is not completely paid for yet.
"All of his grandchildren, he's known as Poppy," Whitney Ingram said.
And "Poppy" is due to welcome his first great grandchild this coming September.
"My children, my nieces my nephews have all gotten to experience Poppy's World," Ingram said. "And I would love for my grandson to experience Poppy's World."
"You are buying minutes of Poppy's World for the grandkids," Budgewater said. "You are buying minutes he gets to spend with his family."
Dale Ingram has been a police officer for more than 45 years, and as friends tell it, with a smile and a gift of gab that can brighten any room.
"He's the most phenomenal man that I know," his daughter said. "He's so caring. He's so giving."
And he and his family are now counting on the gifts of others to give Poppy's World...a little more time.
If you would like to donate, you can find more information here. The VAPA has also set up a PayPal account to accept donations.