A courageous teenager from Alabama, facing the daunting challenge of stage 4 bone cancer, managed to journey to California for a potentially life-saving treatment. This opportunity arose after he shared a touching video plea on his mother’s Facebook page.
Fifteen-year-old Will Roberts took to his mother’s social media on April 22, reaching out with a heartfelt request for assistance in connecting with lawmakers who could help bring an experimental drug to his small hometown.
“I’ve been battling osteosarcoma for the past 16 months,” he revealed in the video. “It’s an extremely deadly and difficult-to-treat form of bone cancer,” he explained.
Will continued, expressing his frustration, “The chemotherapy treatments just aren’t working, and I’ve been fighting this for a while now. I’ve tried almost everything available, and we’re nearing the end of the road, so I really need help.”
He also described his mother’s tireless efforts, mentioning how she spent sleepless nights researching treatments and reaching out to senators, congressmen, and even the National Institutes of Health in search of a solution.
These relentless efforts seemed to bear fruit when Will mentioned, “She discovered a drug that might save my life if we can access 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.
Will Roberts, 15, snuck onto his mother’s Facebook page on April 22 and made a desperate plea for anyone who could help him get in contact with lawmakers who could get him the experimental drug that could save him from bone cancer
‘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 then pleaded with anyone who saw the video to share it with either President Donald Trump or Robert F Kennedy, the secretary of Health and Human Services.
The video quickly went viral online, and Alabama businessman Ric Meyers – a member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort – saw the post and forwarded it to the president, AL.com reports.
Soon, reports came in that Robert F Kennedy Jr saw Will’s message, as did First Lady Melania Trump and Barron Trump.
US Representative Barry Moore then made some 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 Donald Trump 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.
His plea worked, and he and his family (pictured) flew out to California to begin the treatment
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
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.
They have since arrived in the Golden State, where Will is expected to receive thirty minute treatment sessions three times a week as his family splits their time between Alabama and California.
But the treatments will now cost the family $500,000, and Will’s mother, Brittney, said they have already spent $100,000 after medical expenses and the cost of travel and hotels.
An online fundraiser has now been set up to help the family, noting they would never ask for any 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.
Still, 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.’
