[gatagato]

A CITY of more than 103,000 agreed to celebrate Christmas early for a four-year-old boy who has been given just two weeks to live.

Ethan Van Leuven, of West Jordan, Utah, has not responded to treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, which he was diagnosed with just before his second birthday.
“The doctors basically said, he’s got two days to a couple of weeks left to live, and so that’s when we thought we would make the most of the last days he has remaining with us,” Merrill Van Leuven, Ethan’s dad, told the Today show in the US.

Streets around Ethan’s home decided to bring Christmas forward. They put up their decorations of lights, Christmas trees, wreaths and reindeers in their yards on Friday.
“As soon as we start with the festivities, he lights up,” Ethan’s mum Jennifer Van Leuven told FOX 13.
“It’s been really fun to see.”
Ethan was met by Santa Claus and Mrs Claus and they were taken by a West Jordan Fire Department truck to see all the Christmas lights and to see a nativity play of the birth of Jesus.
Christmas carols were played by a radio station. More than 150 people crammed into Ethan’s front yard.
Ethan then celebrated Christmas Day on Saturday morning with his family, opening presents.
“Just overwhelmed,” Merrill Van Leuven told Deseret News.
“It’s felt like Christmas all day to me.”

The day before Ethan had celebrated his fifth birthday — a month early — and the city marked the occasion with a parade. Darth Vader, Indiana Jones, a bagpiper and dozens of others marched down the street and in front of the Van Leuvens’ house.
“You are our hero,” a police officer said over his cop car’s loud speaker.
“Thank you for being a part of our lives, Ethan. Our hero.”
On Tuesday Ethan had marked Halloween, dressed as his hero Superman, playing tick or treat on many local residents.
“He is probably the most patient person that I know. I look up to him in a lot of ways,” Jen Van Leuven, his mum, said. “There’s a lot of things that he has dealt with that I don’t know that I could deal with without complaining like he does. He just goes with it.”

http://fox13now.com/2014/10/24/neigh...nal-prognosis/
http://www.today.com/video/today/56292584#56292584
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/hea...-1227103648618

[winvens]

Poor little guy.

My Mom's eldest sibling died of ALL only a month after she turned 11 back in 1961. Mom said she was really nice and smart as a whip, too.

[TheCreeperBEATNGU]

Poor baby. It warms my heart to see so many people come together and give this little boy something special.

[An_Empty_Memory]

Gosh, this is really depressing. I hate seeing/reading about the children dying.

I am glad there are decent humans that make the boy happy one last time before his time to go.

Why can't the criminals be punished instead of innocent babies with the diseases and such?

This story touches me. <3

[kellyhound]

sounds like a great town to live in as you don't see people caring for eachother that much anymore.

[GregK]

Its crazy to think his parents just accept that fact their son is just going to be taken from them in a couple weeks. Super depressing.