When you’re above the moon and you want to express your happiness, dance it out!
Dancer and motivational speaker Kenny “Clutch” Thomas loves to post and share videos of his youngsters on his Instagram page. Aside from his dancing career, the father of four likes to show off his happy family. His most recent video featured an adorable and fierce fighter who went viral and captivated everyone’s hearts.
Kenny’s son, Kristian, was diagnosed with leukemia. He also has down syndrome ever since he was born. But these menacing conditions couldn’t stop his little boy from being a ball of joy. Kristian had to endure a grueling battle while he underwent a 149-day course of treatment. In his journey towards recovery, the little warrior was eventually declared cancer-free. The charming father and son duo celebrated their hard-earned triumph with the cutest victory dance to a song by Lil Mama—and the Internet loved it.
Kristian was only 14 months when the family received the heartbreaking news of his illness. Aside from the genetic abnormality the boy was born with, he also had low number of platelet cells. Throughout his first year here in this world, the infant Kristian had to get blood work once a week and experienced recurring fevers.
“Once we found out he was diagnosed, he had to get surgery the same day. Before Chemotherapy treatments hit my son’s body, I pulled myself out to have a word of Prayer,” Kenny said in an interview with Bored Panda. “Then went to pray with my family. We knew that in order to defeat this Cancer, we would need a positive mindset and develop a positive atmosphere around Kristian at all times.”
Kenny and Kristian went into the scariest and darkest chapter of their lives yet. But the situation did not stop both father and son to spread positivity and hope. Kenny decided to chronicle his son’s journey as he braved the battlegrounds towards a cancer-free future. Occasionally, he would post a series of dance videos as young Kristian fought cancer.
Each video bannered the hashtags #FightKristian and #FightCancer. The comment section flooded with admiration and heartfelt messages to support Kristian’s battle against cancer and Kenny’s unyielding love for his little boy.
Kenny and his wife, Josilyne own The Level Dance Complex, a dance studio where they offer dance training and performing arts for all ages in Pennsauken, New Jersey. But the couple decided to shut down the studio to focus on their son’s recovery. “Cancer did a lot to our family, we lost our dance studio, 65% of our income, and our home is up for sale by the owner, and we are fighting to secure it,” Kenny said.
Despite how cancer took a toll in Kristian’s health and the family’s stability, Kenny and Josilyne kept a positive outlook and a never-say-die attitude. The dancing dad never abandoned his faith until the whole family overcame all their obstacles. “Whenever negativity and adversity hits, take a step back and experience the situation, instead of receiving it!” Kenny advised.
Watch Kenny and Kristian’s cancer-free dance with the cute 2-year-old healthy as ever: