HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Salvatore Vanni, a neurosurgeon’s son in Aventura, was 4 years old when he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer that develops in immature nerve cells.
He was a patient at seven hospitals in five states and underwent 12 surgeries, 55 cycles of chemotherapy, and 50 rounds of radiation before his death.
In his memory, his parents, Dr. Steven Vanni and Silvia Vanni, co-founded The Mystic Force Foundation in 2008 to help pediatric cancer patients.
“Sad and fun,” 10-year-old Laila Atkins, a pediatric cancer patient, said about how she was feeling on Thursday during the foundation’s sixth annual Childhood Cancer Awareness Gold Ribbon Parade of Hope.
The event, which included deputies and firefighters, started outside of the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood.
Laila, who had an intravenous line and has been waiting for a heart transplant, stood outside with her oncology nurses. She was cheering and dancing.
The foundation’s parade ended with a Heroes Hangout, an after-party for pediatric patients and their families in Fort Lauderdale.
For more information about how to help, visit this page.
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