A five-year-old boy battling brain cancer had his Christmas wish come true before he started treatment.
In an interview with Good Morning America, father Zach Haas said that his son, Wyatt Haas, hadn’t been feeling well and had been experiencing headaches. The family took him to see doctors and was ultimately diagnosed with medulloblastoma in mid-November. The rare brain cancer is diagnosed in 250-500 children per year and is found in the lower back part of the brain and can easily spread throughout the brain and spinal cord.
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Wyatt Haas, 5, rides a unicorn before receiving treatment for a rare brain tumor.
Wyatt immediately had surgery to remove part of the tumor and will be undergoing treatment at St. Jude’s Children’s hospital in Tennessee.
“The last couple months he’s been in so much discomfort,” his father told GMA. “He hasn’t been laughing, playing…having fun. I think after surgery he was being himself again.”
His family left for St. Jude’s in early December so that Wyatt could begin receiving treatment. Before they left, though, the community surprised Wyatt with a special unicorn ride. Knowing how much Wyatt loves unicorns, Jennifer Nielsen, a local mom, dressed up one of her horses as a unicorn so Wyatt could go on a magical ride. Jennifer colored her horse using washable animal chalk and took the brave boy on a ride through a local park.
“I don’t think he expected to see a unicorn at the park,” his dad told GMA. “I think he just expected to see friends. He was super excited.”
Since leaving their home in Montana, Wyatt had undergone a second surgery to remove more of the tumor.
“We are confident things will go good, and hopefully Wyatt won’t have the neurological issues he had with the last resection as they are just cleaning up what’s left,” the family shared on their Facebook page. “Keep him in your thoughts and prayers, and we will update after to let everyone know how things went!”
In the greatest kind of Christmas miracle, the family shared on December 20 that Wyatt is officially brain tumor-free and noted that typically this kind of brain tumor does not reoccur after surgery and treatment.
We’re so happy for Wyatt and his family!