A brave 15-year-old teenager battling stage 4 bone cancer has successfully flown from his home in Alabama to California to receive potentially life-saving treatment after posting a heartfelt video on his mother's Facebook page.
Teen's Desperate Plea
Will Roberts sneaked onto his mother's Facebook page on April 22 and made a desperate plea for help to contact lawmakers who could bring an experimental drug to his small hometown. 'I have osteosarcoma for the last 16 months,' he shared. 'It's a very, very, very deadly and hard-to-treat bone cancer.'
'My chemos are just not working and I've been fighting it for a bit now,' Will continued. 'I've tried basically everything there is and we're getting toward the end of the road and I need help.' He also revealed that his mother, who had been lying in bed reading up on treatments and emailing senators, congressmen, and even the National Institutes of Health, was having 'sleepless, sleepless, sleepless nights.'
Her hard work seemed to pay off, as Will said she 'found this drug that could possibly save my life if we get it in time.' The drug, DeltaRex-G, is an experimental treatment that shuts down the gene that cancer cells need to grow. The National Library of Medicine reported that in some patients with advanced cancer, treatment with the drug has led to 'long-term survivorship' of 10 years or more.
Viral Video Leads to Action
'I want my life, just as anybody does, but even if this won't work out for me, if this drug can get out in the future, I mean, it'll help hundreds of other kids,' Will said. 'I really want it to get out in time for it to help me, too.' He pleaded with viewers to share the video with either President Donald Trump or Robert F Kennedy, the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The video quickly went viral online. Alabama businessman Ric Meyers, a member of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, saw the post and forwarded it to the president, according to AL.com. Soon, reports emerged that Robert F Kennedy Jr saw Will's message, as did First Lady Melania Trump and Barron Trump. US Representative Barry Moore made calls, and US Senators Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville took action. The Roberts family also received a call from the president's spokesperson telling them the president would like to meet Will.
Then, the family received a call from Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who helped them get in contact with Sarcoma Oncology Center in Santa Monica, California. The Roberts family was ultimately able to get Will an appointment at the California clinic, and his doctors back home cleared him to fly across the country.
Treatment and Fundraising
They have since arrived in California, where Will is expected to receive thirty-minute treatment sessions three times a week as his family splits their time between Alabama and California. However, the treatments will now cost the family $500,000, and Will's mother, Brittney, said they have already spent $100,000 on medical expenses, travel, and hotels.
An online fundraiser has been set up to help the family, noting they would never ask for donations. 'This fundraiser is for the Roberts family, a family that would do anything for anyone - the kind of people who show up, lend a hand and open their hearts without ever asking for anything in return,' it says. As of Sunday evening, it had raised over $651,400.
Will's Mission
Will said he wants to work to ensure pediatric cancer patients receive any drugs that show promise delivered to their hometowns at a reasonable price. 'I may not survive bone cancer. It might be too late,' Will told AL.com. 'But if I can help other children have future access to proper cancer drugs without flying all over the world to get them, I've done my job.'
