When a story goes viral, it reaches audiences far and wide with people begging to know more. When a viral story tugs at the heartstrings of those who read it, they can't help but to be curious about the details of those involved. Now, a little boy's personal and heroic story, which went viral earlier in the week, has people asking about him and wondering: Who is Vinny Desautels?
Vinny was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer and is considered to be a true hero. But what was so special about his story and what landed him in the news in the first place?
First, a little background. Seven-year-old Vinny, who's from Sacramento, California, is in the second grade. After spending two years growing his hair out for a very special reason, Vinny cut off thirteen inches of his long blonde hair and donated it to "wigs for kids with cancer" — already a very heroic and good deed. "I want to help people so they don't have to go to the doctors to fight cancer," Vinny told Sacramento Fox affiliate KTXL on Sunday.
The process wasn't always easy either. "During that time he was mistaken for a girl many times, but Vinny took it like a champ and was like, 'Nah, I'm a boy,'" Vinny's father Jason Desautels, a combat veteran, said in a comment to the outlet.
Then, in a disheartening turn of events a short while later, doctors diagnosed Vinny with "stage IV aggressive cancer," according to KTXL-TV. The cancer has resulted in various growths on his hip, one eye, nose, and right cheek. "Well, the veins from my hip are traveling to another place right behind my eye and it's making it squinty," Vinny told the news outlet.
Although doctors are not yet sure what kind of cancer Vinny has, The Washington Post reports that doctors are almost certain that the cancer causing his tumors is Ewing's sarcoma — a rare cancer that develops in the bone or in soft tissue. Doctors are hoping to confirm that before beginning treatment.
In the meantime, Vinny has a strong will to fight. "As long as we are doing this as a family, we got this," said Vinny's mother, Amanda Azevedo, who's currently six months pregnant.
For those moved by Vinny's story and want to give back to the heroic little boy by being heroes of their own, Vinny's grandparents, or his Nana and Pepere, have set up a GoFundMe account to "ease the burden" on his parents so they can concentrate on getting Vinny better.
In just 10 days, the page has drawn over 10,849 donators and drawn in more than $447,000 — almost $50,000 away from meeting their goal. Vinny's grandparents keep the page updated — providing news and updates as they receive more information about Vinny's condition.
As we hear more updates about Vinny's condition and fight with cancer, I'm sure that Vinny Desautels' name will become more well known. There is no reason for it not to. For being such a brave little boy, Vinny's heroism should be made known to as many people as possible.
