Human

7-Year-Old Boy Who Gave His Hair For Cancer Patients, Now Facing His Own Cancer Battle

Ellaine Hannah
First Posted: May 12, 2016 04:30 AM EDT

Vinny Desautels, a 7-year-old boy from Roseville, California spent more than a year growing his hair to donate it to cancer patients. After a month when he sent his hair to Kids' Cancer Twigs, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Ewing Sarcoma.

Ron Desautels from Summerville South Carolina and Vinny's grandfather said that Vinny had been growing out his hair for over a year so that it could donate it to making wigs for cancer patients. He further said that Vinny felt very happy about it, that he was helping someone else. His grandfather described him as not a selfish guy and that he's like the ones that broke the molds, according to ABC News.

Vinny's mother, Amanda Azevedo is a hair stylist. She volunteered in a local lymphoma foundation. She fixed the hair of the former cancer patients for an event and she brought Vinny with her.

Vinny asked then her mother what was she doing. She explained to Vinny the ruthlessness of cancer that fighting this disease would mean losing their hair. She said it was tough especially for women. She then said to Vinny that she was just doing something small to help. Vinny then wanted to help too and he decided to grow his hair and donate it to the cancer patients, according to Washington Post.

After a month when he selflessly donated his hair, Vinny came home from school complaining about knee pain. His parents sighted a lump on his right hip. Vinny also had a swollen eye, which they thought caused by a seasonal allergy.

Vinny's parents brought their son to an emergency room. He was then sent to a hospital in Sacramento for further testing. This includes CT scan, MRIs and blood test. The tests revealed that Vinny had tumors on his hip and in the bone around his eye. His physician confirmed that Vinny has Ewing's sarcoma, which is a rare form of cancer that forms in bones or soft tissues.

The condition of Vinny has touched the lives of many people across the country and in other parts of the world. His grandfather, Ron, had created a GoFundMe page, which is entitled "Victory for Vinny" to raise donation for Vinny's medical expenses. It raised more than $86,000 in 9 days.

Ron said that they had FaceTime a couple of times and the past weekend. He said that Vinny was always upbeat. Vinny said to him, "Hey, I'm going to do everything I can to get better."

"He's just a happy little guy. It's just unreal," said his grandfather.

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