Seven-year-old Vinny Desautels first learned about cancer when he witnessed his mother styling the hair of former cancer patients for an annual benefit event. After his mother explained to him what cancer was and how it affected patients — especially the part about the loss of hair — Vinny decided he wanted to help too, and began growing his hair out for a donation.
So he selflessly grew his hair out for two years, despite the school yard teasing he received for having long hair.
“He was mistaken for a girl many times,” Vinny’s father, Jason Desautels, said. “He always took it like a champion.”
Vinny grew his hair out to thirteen inches and had his mother cut it for a donation to “Wigs for Kids," non-profit organization that makes custom wigs that look just as a child's natural hair would.
What should have been a happy day turned out to be the beginning of a battle no one could have predicted.
Vinny had been complaining about a stinging feeling in his eye that just didn’t seem to be going away. Everyone, even the doctors, thought it was simply allergies. It turned out to be a tumor. Doctors would also determine Vinny had a second tumor inside his pelvic bone.
The thoughtful boy who risked ridicule from his peers for the sake of child cancer patients had become one himself in the blink of an eye.
Since the diagnosis, the Desautels family has been through a seemingly endless series of medical tests to determine the type of cancer they're dealing with, forcing Vinny’s parents to take time off from their jobs to care for their sick son.
Desautels is a U.S Army veteran who fought in the Second Battle of Fallujah, the bloodiest conflict in the Iraq War. Despite his experiences, he still said, “None of that really prepares you for this.”
The family is now seeking help through a GoFundMe campaign page that they hope will help them safely take the time they need to help Vinny fight through his battle against cancer.
“Over the next days, weeks, and months ahead they will need to be at countless doctor appointments, hospital stays and surgeries,” wrote Vinny’s grandfather, Ron Desautels. “As you can imagine the normal costs of every day living...such as rent, food, gas, car, etc...the medical costs can be astronomical.”
“This [campaign] will enable Vinny's parents be able to concentrate on Vinny getting well and fighting this wicked disease called cancer.”
The page has raised over $400,000 of its $600,000 goal in just 10 days.
Despite everything he faces, Vinny is still smiling.
“As long as we’re there with a smile, telling him he’s going to be alright, he has the same attitude,” Desautels said. “Vinny is like us -- an eternal optimist.”