A five-year-old boy from Montana diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a rare brain cancer found in the cerebellum, enjoyed a magical sendoff party and dream ‘unicorn ride’ with his community and classmates before leaving for Tennessee to start his treatment.
Wyatt Haas had been experiencing headaches and feeling sick before he was diagnosed with brain cancer on November 15. Medulloblastoma can easily spread throughout the brain and spinal cord, and the recommended treatment for it includes surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, according to Mayo Clinic.
The day after receiving the devastating news about the medulloblastoma diagnosis, Wyatt underwent an operation to remove a portion of the tumor.
His dad, Zach Haas, said that the last few months have been difficult for the boy.
“He’s been in so much discomfort,” he said. “He hasn’t been laughing, playing, having fun. I think after the surgery he was being himself again.”
Wyatt is set to undergo treatment at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, which meant that his family would have to leave their home in Fallon, Montana, throughout its duration.
But before he said goodbye to his friends, the kindergartner was treated to a magical sendoff party in the neighborhood park featuring his absolute favorite – unicorns!
“We actually kept it a surprise from Wyatt, he didn’t know about it until we got to the park,” the boy’s mother, Corissa, told InsideEdition.com. “He has loved unicorns for two to three years. … He’s just fallen more in love with them as he got older, he’s got a whole collection at home.”
Jennifer Nielsen, whose son is in Wyatt’s kindergarten class at Terry Elementary School, helped organize the sendoff party for the young boy. She heard about how much the young boy loved unicorns, so she decided to set up a “unicorn ride” for him.
She and her husband, Will, manage Nielsen’s Ranch and offered to dress their horse named Bonanza as a unicorn. They also borrowed a friend’s pony named Lily and also made her look like the mythical creature.
To transform them into unicorns, Jennifer used washable animal chalk to draw colorful spots on their bodies and color their mane. It is safe to use on animals and are the same ones that ranchers use to identify livestock. The unicorn horns were made out of paper towel rolls.
When Wyatt arrived at the park and saw the unicorn, “his face lit up”, according to Corissa. His classmates and teacher were also there to join in on the fun. The boy wore a gold crown as he rode the unicorn around.
“We’re really a small community,” Jennifer told “Good Morning America.” “It was a really beautiful thing to rally around Wyatt and his family — let them know we’re praying … we love Wyatt and wanted to show our support.”
Wyatt and Corissa left for Memphis on December 6 and last week, she posted an update regarding Wyatt’s second brain surgery to remove more of the tumor.
“We are confident things will go good, and hopefully Wyatt won’t have the neurological issues he had with the last resection as they are just cleaning up what’s left,” the Facebook post read. “Keep him in your thoughts and prayers, and we will update after to let everyone know how things went!”
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with Wyatt’s medical expenses. See him ride the ‘unicorn’ below and you may follow Wyatt’s journey on his Facebook page.
We’re praying for your speedy recovery, Wyatt!