Danny Nickerson, a six-year-old Massachusetts boy who received more than 150,000 birthday cards from strangers in the summer of 2014, has passed away. Danny lost his battle with brain cancer on April 24.
The New England Patriots football team plays in Foxboro, where his family lives, and the NFL organization helped young Danny celebrate what would turn out to be his last birthday, on July 25, 2014.
"Extending our deepest sympathies to the family of Danny Nickerson. We're honored to have met him," The New England Patriots tweeted on their official Twitter page.
When Danny's parents asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said he wanted mail. An online request went viral, resulting in birthday cards coming in from around the globe. By his birthday, more than 100,000 cards had been received — from more writers than Foxboro's entire population of 16,000 people. The good wishes arrived from people in Texas, Aruba, and a group of Marines serving in Afghanistan, in addition to a myriad of other locales.
"It's overwhelming how much stuff we have to let him open. He's going to have about another year to open all of them," Daniel Jamieson, Danny's father, had said at that time. Unfortunately, the boy did not have that long ahead of him.
Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) – the aggressive, rare form of cancer that took the boy's life – results in the formation of inoperable tumors at the base of the brain. Around 300 children are diagnosed with the disease each year, usually between the ages of five and nine.
"My precious sweet boy earned his angel wings earlier this afternoon after a courageous 18 month battle," read a family post on "Danny's Warriors" Facebook page. "Our lord came and carried his body to heaven. His body was so tired of fighting. He is now cancer free and running and playing and laughing with God and all of the other precious children."
Support is pouring in for Danny from around the globe, as people remember the child who served as an inspiration to others, bravely facing a terminal diagnosis with humor and strength far beyond his years. People shared stories on "Danny's Warriors" of how the six-year-old helped them build strength to face their own challenges.
Although Danny may be gone, his story has filled the world with hope and strength, just as the public helped make his last birthday wish come true in ways he never could have imagined.
