Superheroes are dedicated to fighting crime, protecting the innocent and battling villains. They possess extraordinary superpowers that help them save the day. They often wear a mask or cape to conceal their secret identity.
We know a superhero who has fought one of the worst villains around – children’s cancer. He battled through surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, and came out of it an even stronger hero. He now proudly wears his superhero Cause Cape, which supports the fight to end children’s cancer.
Our superhero is named Donnie. When he was 16 months old he was diagnosed with stage 3 Wilms tumor, the most common form of kidney cancer in children. Thanks to his bravery and the support of his sidekicks, he was able to overpower the evil cancer.
You don’t have to take our word for it. Here’s Donnie saying it himself:
You’ll notice in the video that Donnie is wearing a super cool cape. This is a CureSearch Cause Cape that was created just for him to recognize his battle and triumph over cancer. You can get one of your very own, or for your favorite sidekick, here.
Speaking of sidekicks, we know that all superheroes have trusted sidekicks who help them battle the bad guys. Donnie had four during his battle with cancer – mom, dad and brothers Joey and Felipe.
We asked them a few questions about Donnie’s cancer journey:
Q. What has Donnie’s cancer journey been like for your family?
Dad: It has been difficult as anyone would imagine but we have all grown from it and used it as a reason to be positive and to never take anything for granted.
Mom: Scary. It flipped our world upside down, all of our immediate family’s lives. But just as our lives were flipped upside down, it has also made us stronger. We appreciate the little things, the smallest milestone is celebrated. We look for the silver lining in our everyday lives.
Joey (brother): It was tough, dude. It still affects us. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents away from my mom and dad, I tried helping out with my other brother, Felipe. It was wild. That being said, I can tell you right now that if it weren’t for it all, we wouldn’t be half as close of a family as we are. Blessings in disguise I guess.
Felipe (brother): Interesting.
Q. What kept Donnie and your family strong during his battle?
Dad: Positivity. It’s so simple to be negative but being negative wouldn’t help us in anyway whatsoever. We chose to be positive, to smile, to be grateful, and to always look for the silver lining.
Mom: We never lost hope and we relied on our faith. I also saw that as long as mom and dad kept it together and we kept life as “normal” as possible the boys went along with it.
Felipe: Funny stuff people say.
Q. Why are you involved with CureSearch?
Dad: I want to do anything I can to help any family going through the most difficult times in their lives. If I can only make one person smile that wouldn’t have otherwise then it would be worth it for me.
Mom: Because it’s important to us that no child go through what Donnie went through. I dream of the day when every child can be promised a cure. Yes, heroes come in all sizes, but the tiniest of heroes should be promised a full long life, too.
Donnie is a true superhero, and we’re thankful that he had some supportive sidekicks to help him fight cancer.
If you’re interested in joining the fight to end children’s cancer, get involved. You can also get a Cause Cape for the superhero in your life here.
About Cause Capes and CureSearch Partnership
$10 from the sale of every $25 green and gold CureSearch Cause Cape and $5 from the sale of every $25 custom-designed CureSearch Cause Cape will benefit CureSearch or Children’s Cancer and help end pediatric cancer.
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