13-Year-Old Boy's Act for Child Dying From Cancer Should Give You Hope in Troubled Times

The selfless actions of Diego Torres, a 13-year-old boy from the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley are inspiring dozens of others to follow his example.

Torres saw a television report about another child in the area, 4-year-old Ethan Van Leuven, who has been fighting a losing battle with an aggressive form of leukemia.

Image: Screen capture KSL.com

Recently, Ethan's parents were told their son's disease was no longer treatable and he could have just a few days or weeks to live. They decided to make their little boy's last days as happy as possible.  On Tuesday, the Van Leuvens and their neighbors celebrated Halloween for little Ethan, seen above in his Superman costume.

Last night, the family celebrated Ethan's fifth birthday, a month early.

Tonight is "Christmas Eve" in the Van Leuven house. Saturday morning will be "Christmas," reported to be Ethan's favorite holiday.

One of the highlights of Ethan's Christmas morning will be a mountain of stuffed toys sent by Diego Torres.

Image: Screen capture KSL.com

The 13-year-old started collecting the toys when his own mother was diagnosed with cancer about four years ago. Diego says they distracted him from his fear of losing his mom.

Fortunately, Diego's mother's cancer is in remission and the young man decided to send the nearly 100 toys that comforted him in a rough time to Ethan, along with a message.

"Live life to the fullest today, because you never know when it’s going to be over," he wrote.

Watch the local coverage from Utah's KSL TV:

(H/T: KSL TV)

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