My Three Sons actress Dawn Lyn, who portrayed Dodie Douglas in the hit '60s sitcom, has endured several debilitating health issues in recent years, after developing a brain tumor and meningitis in 2022. The 62-year-old's husband, William John Reese, shared an update on her health battle in a post on her GoFundMe page on Wednesday, revealing that she returned to the hospital due to unexplained internal bleeding. "Since I last updated, she has been on several trips to the ER for internal bleeding," William wrote in the post.
"Last Tuesday, she had a procedure to find out why. Since then, the bleeding has abated, and the doctors say it isn't cancer, but they still aren't sure about why she had internal hemorrhaging." He added that she was "doing well in upper torso therapy and stretching of her back and lower torso," and was firmly on the mend.
"If you sent us a personal message and I haven't responded, it's because recent events and days hanging out at the ER or big hospital take their toll," he added. "Also, the 82-mile round trip to her care facility involves the busiest freeway in SoCal, making the trip home an average of two hours. I need to be with her daily as much as she counts on me in our symbiotic relationship."
Dawn portrayed Dodie on My Three Sons for the show's final three seasons, from 1969 to 1972. She was just six years old at the time and formed a close connection with her on-screen family. Her former co-star, Stanley Livingston, who played Richard "Chip" Douglas in the series, told Fox News Digital that they still keep in touch decades later.
"She was my little sister [on the show] so we're very protective of her," he explained. "She calls me her big brother, and I call her my little sis – I've done that for the past 50 years. We all care about her." Dawn made her first public appearance in years at a fan event in September, alongside her friend and fellow child star, Erin Murphy, who portrayed Tabitha Stephens in Bewitched from 1966 to 1972.
© Getty Images"So happy to see my dear friend Dawn Lyn out and about," Erin wrote in a Facebook post. "She's been dealing with some significant health issues the last few years. TV fans will remember her as Dodie on My Three Sons. Film fans will remember her from the Walking Tall trilogy. Music fans will remember her brother, teen idol Leif Garrett."
© Disney General Entertainment ConAs well as My Three Sons and Walking Tall, Dawn also appeared in Gunsmoke, Mannix, Marcus Welby, M.D, and Wonder Woman. The actress underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor in 2022, after which she slipped into a coma. Her husband told TMZ that Dawn then developed bacterial meningitis after she left the ICU.
© FacebookShe was moved to a facility to receive 24/7 care and daily therapy. William told the outlet that while their insurance had covered $2 million of Dawn's medical expenses, the couple had to pay the remaining balance, which included $8,000 per day for the hospital stays and $5,000 a month for a caregiver to help her recover at home.
