An eight-year-old Virginia boy who was recently declared cancer-free following a battle with brain cancer has been having a blast in his new hot tub, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
In 2019, then five-year-old Easton Welsh of Powhatan, also known by his “superhero alter ego” moniker “Easton the Beaston,” had trouble smiling, which concerned his parents, Justin and Jessica, WTVR reported.
“When he smiled only half his face moved. He had bells [sic] palsy. So we immediately went to the doctor,” Jessica told the outlet.
A myriad of medical examinations ensued as the child’s condition continued to deteriorate, and he was ultimately diagnosed with brain cancer on December 13, 2019, WTVR noted.
Surgery was performed to remove a tumor days after the diagnosis, and the youngster was released from the hospital only three days after the operation. Easton underwent chemotherapy treatments following his surgery and made slow progress day by day before recently being declared cancer-free, according to the outlet.
“He has been tough as nails. He rarely questions what is going on,” Justin told WTVR.
During Easton’s battle, the Make-A-Wish Foundation offered him a wish, and Easton settled on a hot tub. While Justin noted the request was a bit unorthodox, Virginia Sheri Lambert, who is the president and chief executive officer of the organization’s greater Virginia chapter, said that Make-A-Wish had seen an uptick in gift wish requests since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The hot tub arrived in February, and Easton the Beaston “is having a blast making memories with his entire family with his watery wish,” Make-a-Wish Greater Virginia said on a Facebook post.
“Full speed still. I always tell him he has to slow down and his famous catchphrase is, ‘It’s OK mom, I have a plate in my head. It’s OK,’” Jessica told WTVR.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a nonprofit organization with the mission of creating “life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses,” its website states. The organization grants a wish of a critically ill child every 34 minutes in the United States.