There are so many things that COVID has ruined or canceled this year, it would be impossible to list them all in this post!
But if you think you have it tough being unable to travel or see your friends, this story is a helpful reminder that there are people facing bigger battles out there.
Courtney Thomas of Georgia has to keep her family extra protected against the virus, as she has a child with cancer.
Some forms of cancer weaken the immune system, but chemotherapy is the biggest thing to blame in this sense.
Many cancer patients who undergo chemo experience neutropenia, which is a decrease in the number of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, that we all have in our blood.
This means that people who are having this kind of treatment are much more susceptible to catching illnesses and being unable to fight them.
Mom Courtney knows all too well the risks of her child contracting COVID, and has altered her lifestyle as a result.
One of the sacrifices her family had to make this year was to say no to trick-or-treaters.
Having strangers stepping into your home’s boundaries and potentially touching, breathing and leaving germs in the immediate area is something of a COVID nightmare.
Some people decided to leave candy at the bottom of their driveways for kids to help themselves, but Courtney simply left a sign.
She never could have expected the response she received to that sign on the night of Halloween.
Courtney shared her story to Facebook, alongside a photo of her sign, which reads, “Sorry, no candy, child with cancer, see you next year!” She’d also added a few messages of positivity: “Have fun!” and “Cool costume!”
She’d done what she felt she could do given the situation – there was no way she could risk having trick-or-treaters in her yard this year.
In her post, Courtney wrote:
“I can’t stop crying ❤️😭😭😭❤️
If anyone thought there was no hope in our kids and teens you’re wrong.
The SOLE purpose of us putting this sign in our yard today was so kids wouldn’t run to our door and be disappointed (our neighborhood usually gets 300-400 kids).
I looked on our doorbell camera tonight and saw that kids had been stopping at the sign. T.j. Thomas and I just went outside and found this 😭😭😭
The picture doesn’t do it justice, it’s a LOT and the good stuff even 😜
Seriously… If the parents of anyone who did this sees this, PLEASE tell them how much it means to us and our kiddos. On the best candy night of the year kids freely and generously shared with strangers and showed so much love and kindness. So amazing ❤️”
What Courtney had found was a pile of Halloween candy left in a pile beneath her sign.
The kids who had passed by her house had evidently read the sign, realized that there was a child with cancer who had missed out on trick-or-treating, and left some of their own collected candy for the child to enjoy.
Courtney’s Facebook post touched the hearts of so many people that it was shared more than 300,000 times.
Hundreds of people left comments wishing Courtney and her family the best, and Courtney edited her post to thank everyone for their caring words.
Courtney has a point when she says that we’re wrong to think there’s no hope in children and teens.
This wonderful act of kindness is proof that there is so much good in the younger generation – and you don’t even have to look for it, because sometimes, it comes right to your very front yard.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
