Town Celebrates Halloween Early For 4-Year-Old Boy With Terminal Cancer

In 2011, when Ethan Van Leuven was just 22 months old he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cancer of the blood cells). The doctors soon began treating Ethan's illness with chemotherapy, but just recently doctors informed Ethan's parents that there was nothing more that they could do for their 4-year-old son. “His Leukemia has gone out of control and is no longer treatable, so he was given a few days to several weeks left,” Merrill Van Leuven, Ethan’s father said.

When the people of the small Utah town of West Jordan heard of Ethan's predicament they decided to help Ethan's parents make the most of his time by celebrating Halloween last Tuesday - ten days early. Ethan was able to put on a Superman costume and go trick-or-treating one last time. A few days later a parade was held to celebrate Ethan's fifth birthday, which won't actually happen for another month. And then on Friday, Christmas lights decorated the streets of West Jordan as Ethan got to enjoy one more Christmas Eve with his family, and of course was able to enjoy the sheer bliss of Christmas morning when he woke up yesterday morning to a tree filled with presents.

Even a local radio station, FM 100.3, played Christmas music during a three-hour block just for Ethan. 13-year-old Diego Torres heard about Ethan's situation and he sent Ethan 100 stuffed toys that he had collected over the past four years. He began that collection because his mother had been diagnosed with cancer and it helped distract him from the thought of her passing away. Now that his mother's cancer is in remission Diego felt compelled to send them to Ethan. “Live life to the fullest today, because you never know when it’s going to be over,” Diego wrote.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ethan and his family.