{"id":371384,"date":"2026-04-09T15:17:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:17:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/371384\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T15:17:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:17:07","slug":"local-9-year-old-cancer-survivor-needs-your-vote-in-national-art-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/371384\/","title":{"rendered":"Local 9-Year-Old Cancer Survivor Needs Your Vote in National Art Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>photo from Elliott<\/p>\n

Local 9-year-old Elliot Hendrix is proving that healing doesn\u2019t always look the way you expect\u2014and sometimes, it looks like art.<\/p>\n

Elliot is the son of Natasha Hendrix, owner of McCreary\u2019s Pub in Franklin and Columbia. He is also a survivor of Retinoblastoma, a rare cancer he was diagnosed with at just 2\u00bd years old. He lost his left eye to the disease, but today, he\u2019s celebrating something far bigger: seven years cancer-free.<\/p>\n

For his family, though, beating cancer was only part of the journey.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cancer isn\u2019t always the hardest part\u2014it\u2019s what comes after,\u201d his mother said. In the years following treatment, Elliot and his family faced the emotional and mental toll that lingered long after the diagnosis. \u201cYou don\u2019t just go back to normal,\u201d she said. \u201cYou slowly find your way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Elliot, that path forward came through art. Now, he\u2019s taking a big step.\n<\/p>\n

Elliot has made it to the quarterfinals of a national art competition inspired by Bob Ross, whose message that there are \u201cno mistakes, just happy accidents\u201d hits especially close to home.<\/p>\n

The competition also benefits a cancer foundation, making it even more meaningful for Elliot and his family. To move forward, he needs votes\u2014one free vote per day from supporters. Today, April 9th is the last day to vote! You can place your vote here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

His family says this moment isn\u2019t really about winning. It\u2019s about watching Elliot take a chance on himself after everything he\u2019s been through.\u201cIt\u2019s not easy being a kid who looks different,\u201d his mother said. \u201cBut he\u2019s learning to be proud of who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Elliot, this competition is more than a contest. It\u2019s a reminder that cancer is something he went through, not something that defines him. And with a little support from his community, it could also be a well-earned moment to shine. Currently, Elliot is 1st in the quarterfinal; you can place your vote here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

More Local Living News<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"photo from Elliott Local 9-year-old Elliot Hendrix is proving that healing doesn\u2019t always look the way you expect\u2014and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,94390,156,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-371384","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-elliott","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-new-zealand","16":"tag-newzealand","17":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371384"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371384\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}