4-Year-Old With Brain Cancer Plays Epic Nerf War With Hospital Nurses

Sep 25, 2019 by apost team

Taking care of people with cancer is an emotional challenge for caregivers. It's especially difficult when the patients are children. While the challenges never go away, a moment of fun and laughter helps make it a bit easier.

A Nerf war with nurses would do the trick. According to People, Drew Esposito is a four-year-old dealing with brain cancer at Norton Children’s Hospital. Back at the end of 2018, Drew started having an ongoing problem with severe headaches and vomiting.

After a few doctor visits, his parents, Jeremy and Sondra Esposito, took him to the hospital for a brain scan. They received heart-breaking news the day before Christmas. Drew had medulloblastoma, the most common form of brain tumor in children. Drew had a lime-sized tumor on the back of his brain. It was blocking the fifth ventricle and had to be removed immediately. Doctors took him to surgery on Christmas morning.

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The surgeon didn't come out until almost midnight to tell them he had removed all the tumor. To keep the tumor at bay, the little boy had to undergo extensive chemotherapy for nine months. This journey had multiple complications and meant spending weeks in the hospital. He ended up getting a bone marrow transplant, which kept him in the hospital even longer. Drew's family, including his brother William, 11, and his sister, Katie, 7, have tried to keep his spirits up.

But, being confined to a hospital can be tedious for a four-year-old. When he was feeling bad, staying in bed and using his iPad or watching TV helped pass the time. Sleep was easy when he was on pain meds. However, that was only temporary. Drew's dad, Jeremy, summed it up.

"When he started to feel better, crazy little Drew would want to come out to play!"

That's when the Nerf wars started. It began with battles against Mommy or Daddy. But, every conquering hero needs new opponents. The nurses decided to join the game. Taylor Bergman was one of the nurses helping to take care of little Drew. It started with him shooting her with a Nerf gun. He challenged her to a Nerf battle. It was war! Taylor went out and grabbed fellow nurse, Meg Garl. 

They opened the door and the war was on. Drew was already ready, suited up in his favorite superhero costume. It was one of many Nerf battles to come. Jeremy sang the praises for the nurses. 

“They are literally angels on earth,” Jeremy told People. “That fight on the video, and the dozens not filmed, were an escape for our buddy, even if it was just a little bit of time. It was a way for him to stay active while trapped in that room during his bone marrow transplant for months on end. It was a way for him to take out frustration, and most importantly for Sondra and I, it offered invaluable bonding time between us and our son.”

What do you think of Drew and his nursing team? Please let others see this video by passing along the link.