There’s nothing worse than when a young child gets sick. After all, kids are sweet and innocent… they shouldn’t have to go through that. It’s even worse when it’s a serious illness. Not only does it take a toll on the child but it also has an effect on the entire family.
Parents don’t want to see their kids struggle with a serious illness. That’s why many moms and dads will do whatever they can to make their child happy when they go through something like this. But some parents go above and beyond.
Just like Branson Figueroa’s parents
Branson was only two years old when he had to go into surgery for a condition called craniosynostosis. That means his skull bones fused too soon. His parents wanted to help him through it.
A happy surprise
Luckily, Branson’s surgery went fine. But his parents still wanted to do something to congratulate him and make him feel better after the ordeal. So, they planned something pretty special.
A new best friend
Are you wondering what the surprise was? It was a Boston terrier puppy. This is just what Branson needed to cheer him up…a new best friend to spend time with while he was recovering.
Becoming fast friends
It didn’t take long for Branson to name the new dog. He called it Thanos after his favorite character from the Marvel Avengers movies. After a few days, they were already spending a lot of time together and becoming the best of friends.
But then, something happened
After a while, the family noticed Thanos was having some strange symptoms. Branson’s mom, Heather, said, “Thanos was sleeping a lot and was a little unsteady; sometimes he’d fall down while walking. He didn’t like lying flat or tilting his head back and my husband thought his eyes looked a little funny. So, I took him to the vet.”
A shocking diagnosis
Soon, the vet told the family what was going on with Thanos. It was a shocking diagnosis. That’s because Thanos was diagnosed with the same problem as Branson. That meant he’d need the same surgery. Even after some delay because of the coronavirus pandemic, the news came back quickly enough.
Stressful times
Of course, this family wanted to take care of their new puppy. But at the same time, Branson had just gone through surgery. Plus, they had two other children. They just didn’t know what they were going to do.
Helping hands
A 22-year-old vet tech named Rileigh Champagne knew she had to do something to help the family. So, she started a fundraiser for Thanos’ surgery. She estimated the entire procedure would cost about $13,000 in total.
She explained why she tried to help out
Rileigh said, “I could see that Heather wanted to fight for Thanos – there’s such a close relationship there between the puppy and her son. I realized that whatever the diagnosis was, Thanos would need some ongoing and extensive care, and that was going to cost a lot of money.” She just couldn’t let this little boy who’d already gone through so much lose his dog too.
Acts of kindness
The donations started rolling in. In a short amount of time, they collected over $10,000 in donations. It just goes to show how kind and willing people are to lend a helping hand when others need it most.
This is a heartwarming story that hopefully inspires all of us to appreciate our pets more.
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Source: FaithPot, God Updates
