5-year-old boy diagnosed with brain cancer rides off to treatment on a magical ‘unicorn’
FALLON, Mont. - A 5-year-old boy who loves unicorns got a magical sendoff from his kindergarten classmates and community after finding out that he would need treatment for a brain cancer diagnosis.
Wyatt Haas was diagnosed with brain cancer on Nov. 15, Good Morning America reported.
Three weeks later, as Wyatt was about to head off for treatment at St. Jude’s in Memphis, Tennessee, his community and classmates threw him a farewell party at a neighborhood park with an epic surprise.
When Wyatt arrived at the park, he found two “unicorns” ready to help him ride off to treatment.
Wyatt Haas, 5, got a magical sendoff from his classmates, complete with a ride atop a unicorn, before heading off to treatment for cancer. (Jennifer Nielsen)
"I don't think he expected to see a unicorn at the park," Wyatt's dad, Zach Haas, told Good Morning America. "I think he just expected to see friends. He was super excited."
(Jennifer Nielsen)
He went on to explain that Wyatt had been in so much discomfort from feeling sick and suffering headaches leading up to his diagnosis that he had barely been laughing, playing or having fun.
Wyatt underwent surgery on Nov. 16 to have part of a tumor removed, which his father noted seemed to help a lot, telling Good Morning America, "I think after the surgery he was being himself again."
Wyatt Haas, 5, got a magical sendoff from his classmates, complete with a ride atop a unicorn, before heading off to treatment for cancer. (Jennifer Nielsen)
The unicorn surprise awaiting Wyatt at his farewell party was the idea of Jennifer Nielsen, the mother of another boy in Wyatt’s kindergarten class at Terry Elementary School. She and her husband, Will, operate a ranch and offered to deck out their horse, Bonanza, to look like a unicorn for Wyatt’s party. They also managed to get a friend’s pony, named Lily, in on the magical surprise and dressed her up in rainbow colors and a shiny unicorn horn as well.
Wyatt Haas, 5, got a magical sendoff from his classmates, complete with a ride atop a unicorn, before heading off to treatment for cancer. (Jennifer Nielsen)
Nielsen said she used washable animal chalk to create the unicorn look — animal chalk is usually used by ranchers to identify livestock and is temporary and safe. The shiny silver horns were crafted out of paper towel rolls.
Before heading off to Memphis — where he is now receiving radiation and chemotherapy — Wyatt got to go on the unicorn ride of his dreams, and he even got to share a unicorn cake with his friends.
The unicorn cake that Wyatt Haas shared with his friends at his farewell party. (Jennifer Nielsen)
“We're really a small community," Nielsen 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."
This story was reported from Los Angeles.