By Jessie Burchette
jburchette@salisburypost.com
Carl Doby’s five year battle with leukemia and a bone marrow disease ended Tuesday.
Doby, 36, died around 1 p.m. at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem where he had been since late May.
He had worked as a code enforcement officer for Rowan County and later for Cabarrus County. His wife, Deona, is a teacher at Faith Elementary.
During his illness, a friend created a Facebook page, Praying for Carl Doby, and churches circulated prayer chains. Many visited caringbridge.org to monitor his progress.
Doby’s friends, co-workers and volunteers organized a bone marrow drive in April to find a match that would help him overcome a syndrome that resulted from chemotherapy, which prevented his body from producing platelets.
He underwent a bone marrow graft but complications developed.
In the last post on the Saving Grace Web site, his wife Deona wrote that the donor cells were attacking him. At that point he was placed on a respirator to aid his breathing.
She also wrote about his love for his children, sons Harrison and Grant and daughter Ella, and his desire to recover and be at home with them.
In early 2005, while working in the county planning department, Doby thought he had an extended bout of the flu. It turned out to be leukemia.
While undergoing treatment at Baptist, his wife gave birth at NorthEast Medical Center in Concord.
Determined to be there, he got a four-hour pass so he could witness the delivery of Ella, their first daughter.
To help the family, county employees held fundraisers and donated weeks of vacation time to extend Doby’s sick leave pay.
Information on funeral services was not immediately available.