An Ohio teen battling a serious illness has earned the title of honorary Marine, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
16-year-old Sam Short was diagnosed with spinal cancer in 2018, however, he partnered with nonprofit Make-A-Wish in April to spend two days at the Marine Corps boot camp.
The Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C. shared photos of Sam giving his all during training, and said, “Sam could have chosen anything, yet, he chose to stand on the yellow footprints.”
“Even though they were just two-and-a-half days — it really was a life-changing experience for Sam,” Tori Short, Sam’s mom, told Fox News.
The 16-year-old said that he has always wanted to be a Marine, having been inspired by his uncle who served in the Marine Corps
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“[Sam] really wanted to come out and prove himself,” said his dad, Mike Short, in a Marine Corps video. “He was really adamant that this is where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do.”
When Sam was 12, he started struggling to walk and keep his balance. That’s when doctors found a tumor on his spine and neck.
The tumor was removed in surgery, but the cancer aggressively returned within the year.
“[The cancer has] basically taken a lot of the things that I loved to do away,” Sam said. “I can’t play sports, which is really hard. But it was definitely hard balancing school and treatment.”
Tori shared that her eldest son’s diagnosis has been challenging for the whole family but she and her husband try to balance the challenges with trying to maintain a normal life for their kids.
“We try to not get ahead of ourselves,” she said. “We also try not to get stuck.”
“We live scan to scan,” Sam’s mom continued, “and try not to live in the anxiety of what might happen. [We’re] trying to really continue to hope and push forward and also live in the reality [that] things can change at a moment’s notice.”
Make-A-Wish helps fulfill the wishes of children who are fighting critical illness.
“The spirit of Semper Fidelis provides a powerful emotional inspiration for these Make-A-Wish kids who see their wish a turning point in their often successful battles to overcome illness,” Make-A-Wish spokesperson Jono Smith told Fox News.
