Boy battling cancer gets dying wish to go home
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- It's an update to a story Action News aired weeks ago: thanks to the generosity of strangers, a little boy battling cancer is getting his dying wish.
It's exactly what 10-year-old Julian Ross wanted - to be at a home with his family, including little brother Braydon and Julian's four puppies.
Action News spoke with his parents two weeks ago outside the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
They were happy with the hospital's care but with no more options to treat his stage 4 neuroblastoma, Julian wanted to go home.
The problem was that hospice care where they live in upstate New York couldn't handle his care.
That's when his story went viral on social media with the help of a post from Cincinnati Bengals player Devon Still - whose daughter Leah also battled neuroblastoma.
Martino Cartier of Wigs and Wishes got to work.
A call to the CEO of Kennedy Hospital lead to Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice.
Their nurses are trained to care for terminal kids but they still needed a local home for Julian.
That's where Mary Gabrielli and her daughter Brenda come in.
Mary lost her husband Frank to ALS a few years ago. She can relate to how Julian's parents feel so she welcomed them.
"I thought, 'I have this big house and I just want to do something to make someone happy,'" said Gabrielli.
Upon leaving the hospital, Julian was even was escorted by police and the Warriors Watch Riders.
"It's a beautiful thing to know you can post something and say, 'Hey guys, whoever is listening, I need to help this kid' and heavens gates open up," said Cartier.
"He's happier. It put a lot of life back into him. The love that people have is incredible for a little boy they didn't even know," said Kristi Ross, mom.
The home setting will give Julian more space, more fresh air and he can have his entire family there.
But his story shines the spotlight on a nationwide problem that there's a need for more resources in more areas to offer home hospice care to kids who need it.
More information:
Wigs and Wishes
Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice
