Strangers around the world are making young cancer patient's Halloween wishes come true
Brock Chadwick loves Halloween, but this year, he's celebrating a new holiday, Brocktoberfest, with new friends from around the world.
His great-aunt came up with the idea to celebrate Brocktoberfest as a way to cheer up the 7-year-old. Chadwick was diagnosed earlier this year with glioblastoma, a cancer affecting his brain and spine, and his mom, Brittney Horton, told ABC News that a recent MRI scan showed he has more tumors growing that are causing issues across his body. He's receiving treatment, but because his family isn't sure if he'll be able to go trick-or-treating and to Halloween parties, they asked friends on social media if they wouldn't mind sending him cards as part of Brocktoberfest.
Not only did friends start sending cards, books, and candy to Chadwick's home in Biddeford, Maine, but so did strangers, and he's already received more than 1,000 cards from places as far away as France, Singapore, and Scotland. His little sister helps him open his packages, and he loves reading the well-wishes and positive messages being shared with him. "It's made him smile a whole lot more," Horton said. Chadwick plans on dressing up no matter what on Halloween, and he's trying to choose between the Hulk and Captain America. Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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