Snowball fight brings smiles to Raleigh boy fighting cancer

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Diane Wilson Image
Friday, January 26, 2018
Snowball fight brings smiles to Raleigh boy fighting cancer
Edward Thompson was all smiles at a snowball party fight for him before he starts more chemotherapy.

RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) -- A snowball fight brought big smiles to a Raleigh boy fighting cancer for the second time. Edward Thompson has been through a lot. At just 12 years old, Edward was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

After completing five rounds of chemotherapy, doctors thought he was on the road to recovery. He relapsed after five weeks off of chemotherapy, and is now gearing up for four more rounds of a different type of chemotherapy and then will hopefully do a stem cell transplant.

Before starting his new treatment plan and going into isolation to keep him as healthy as possible, Edward wanted to have one more snowball fight with his friends.

When his mom, Sarah, spoke with the snowmaking companies about how much it would be to bring snow to Edward, she says the price tag of $1,000 was just too steep.

A Triangle mom heard about the setback and anonymously donated the funds to bring snow to Edward.

With snow all over Edward's front yard, he invited his friends over. Snowballs were flying left and right, and Sarah couldn't believe how much joy it brought to everyone.

"It's nice to see him smile. It's nice to see him laugh. It's nice for him to forget what's going on in his life. After this, he'll be in isolation for a while and won't be allowed to see his friends quite as he can now," Sarah added.

Edward is now starting another round of chemotherapy, and then he will undergo a stem cell transplant.

"Doing parties like this really helps him feel normal and helps his friends see him as just being a kid and not just a sick kid."

Edward said he had a blast during the snowball fight and is so appreciative that he was able to have so much fun with his friends in the snow before he starts his next battle.