BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Good neighbors have come together to bring comfort to a young boy battling cancer.
Shane is a 7-year-old who was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
As he recovers at home from surgery, he is in need of a set of wheels to get him to his doctor's appointments.
That is where we find two gentlemen who pulled a few strings to make this a reality at no cost!
Guy Norton told 7 News' Pheben Kassahun he does not have to look any further when it comes to finding an accessible van for his grandson, Shane.
"We were looking for a van that is handicap accessible to take him to his doctor appointments because when you call a service to come and get you, you wait hours by the time they get there. The vans aren't usually that comfortable," Shane's grandfather, Guy Norton said.
The 7-year-old had been staying at Oishei Children's Hospital for almost a year, as he underwent chemo, and surgery to remove two brain tumors.
The young boy is getting stronger each day and was able to come home before Christmas.
Shane is now transitioning back to his daily routine, with a little help.
"He can't stand, he can't walk yet. He can with the assistance of a walker. The determination on his face is amazing. He's a good boy, he's a strong boy, he's a fighter, he's a solder," Norton said.
This was made possible by a man based out of Tonawanda, and a car dealership owner in Buffalo, who are all strangers but knew someone who knew someone to make this necessity come to fruition.
Frank DiMaria was actually looking for an accessible van for another friend, that is until he heard about Shane's story from George, who had a van available.
"Actually was telling me about a little boy who had cancer and that his grandfather was just down here to look at the van and was trying to put some money together to buy the van," DiMaria explained. "The car dealer helped us out. It was unbelievable. He found out that we were going to buy it. He actually lowered his price, even after he gave me the set price, he lowered it."
The car dealer he spoke about was George, who is the owner of Unlimited Autos.
"It made me feel great because I understand. I lost people in my family to cancer and I know what cancer does to people. Anything I can do to help out somebody, I am willing to do," George said.
The van is even getting a new automatic start system to make life simpler.
Unlimited Autos employee, Keith Sutton added, "He can be there to warm it up for his grandson. It is just a blessing to see the reaction on the gentleman's face when this is happening. We just wanted to bless his family."
A team effort, all done by strangers in the hopes of shining light on an already bright future for young Shane.
Shane's story has captured the hearts of people across the world.
Thanks to Hope Rises, his Pokemon card collection has expanded due to various people sending him cards.
