OLATHE, Kan. — We often hear of sick children staging brave battles against cancer and other ailments. An ailing 6-year-old Olathe boy wants to help other kids smile, even as he undergoes cancer treatments.
The Wilson family living room is ground zero for an effort to help sick kids smile.
Noah Wilson has a rare form of bone cancer on his spine. While undergoing treatment at Children's Mercy Hospital, he discovered that bandages are a sense of pride and identity for sick kids, and boring brown bandages just weren't cutting it for him.
"He asked the nurse one day if he could get a superhero Band-Aid, and the nurse said that unfortunately, they don’t have a lot of those," Scott Wilson, Noah’s father, explained.
That's when Noah went to work, and Band-Aids 4 U was born.
"I like it because I get more Band-Aids to give to other people," Noah explained.
Noah made a donation bucket and sign with crayons and paper. He has managed to fill it with colorful bandages many times over. The family dining room is like a small warehouse with 900 boxes of bandages meant to go to families of sick kids to use in their homes.
"If I want to look at my Band-Aid, and it's just brown," Noah said. "But if I have cool ones, I can see cool superheroes."
Noah has already undergone five rounds of chemotherapy, and doctors say there are more to come.
"I usually get shots in my legs and pick lines in my hand on my middle finger where my blood is," Noah said.
And what started as a word of mouth effort has resulted in donated bandages from as far away as California, all meant to make happy moments for sick children.
"Generally, when you get a Band-Aid, it means you've finished something like a shot or procedure that makes them anxious," Scott Wilson said, "So the Band-Aid is a symbol that says, 'I completed something, I was scared, but now, I'm better.'"
Doctors say Noah's road to recovery is progressing well. His family says he has a 40 percent chance of making a full recovery.
Noah's family says they’re still accepting donations, which will be presented to the families of sick children for use in their own homes.
Donations can be sent to:
Band-Aids 4 U
119 N. Parker Street; Suite 110
Olathe, KS 66061-3139