5-Year-Old Cancer Survivor Spends His Gift Certificate To Buy Toys For Unwell Kids In Hospital

Dec 04, 2019 by apost team

Zander Wiles was only 8 months old when he was first diagnosed with cancer. At age five, he is showing how the experience has already taught him how to be a better person.

The young leukemia survivor has turned his own fortune into a way to help others by donating toys to other children currently facing cancer.

Although Zander's cancer is now thankfully in remission, it was a long road to get here. The little boy had to endure many rounds of grueling chemotherapy treatment sessions at the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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According to Zander's mom, Brooke Wiles, the fighter still visits the hospital every three months for a physical exam and blood testing. The family was originally from Muskegon, Michigan, but had to relocate to the Grand Rapids area to be closer to the hospital when Zander was battling acute lymphoblastoma.

In order to celebrate Zander's victory as he went into remission, Burlington Stores presented him with a $150 gift certificate. While it was an extremely thoughtful gift, Zander decided to not keep it all to himself. "We wanted to pay it forward," Zander's mom told WZZM.

After picking out one toy for himself and one for his older sister, Savannah, Zander picked out a variety of gifts to give back to the DeVos Children’s Hospital, reports FOX 17.

Brooke said that she wanted to teach her children the importance of giving back. The hospital and its staff provided so much support to the family through Zander's fight and it felt natural to give back to other kids now fighting the same battle.

It has been a long road for the family. Zander has been in and out of the hospital since he was an infant. Because of the cancer, he was not able to walk or talk until he was 18 months old. All of the time spent away from home was also hard on Savannah. But now that Zander has his health, it is clear to everyone that the struggle was worth it.

You can learn more about Zander's story and his generosity by watching this touching video. After you have watched the clip, be sure to spread the inspiration to everyone else in your social network. This is the perfect holiday story to encourage others to give back to those in need.