Vincent Butterfield and Zac Gossage are a pair of best friends from Central Elementary School in Union, MO.
Although the two boys are only in first grade right now, their friendship is the kind that takes years and years to grow.
When Zac was diagnosed with a rapidly spreading leukemia, Vincent tried his best to understand what his friend was going through, and more importantly, what he could do to help him out.
Just last June, Zac complained about feeling tired and ill for multiple weeks, and the routine trip to the doctor’s office became a nightmare for the family when they discovered Zac had acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
This form of cancer is especially deadly because it is fast growing, and specifically affects the white blood cells that conventionally provide the body with a defense against diseases and illness.
“As a parent you want to make sure that nothing bad ever happens to your child, and when something does, you want to be able to fix it, and I couldn’t, ” said Zac’s mother, Stacy Tooley.
Despite having to spend a lot of his time in the hospital, Zac almost never missed a day of school and almost always walked around with a big smile.
All the while, Zac’s best friend Vincent tried his best to keep understanding what his friend was currently going through.
“It’s when your white blood cells, and your red blood cells, fight,” Vincent explained as he broke-down his understanding of Zac’s condition.
When Vincent learned that Zac’s treatment was expensive, he resorted to helping his mom knit scarves to sell as a mean of raising funds.
Making over 200 dollars on his scarf sales, Vincent was eager to help his friend and his family in any way he could.
When Vincent learned Zac would lose his hair due to the chemotherapy, he decided to join his friend in solidarity by shaving his own hair.
Walking into class with a stocking covering his head, he surprised his first grade class and showed off his new hair style.
When asked what friendship was to him, Vincent simply replied, “A beautiful thing.”
Vincent is really showing the world that being wise and caring does not require you to be old, and lucky for Zac, he has a friend that will stand by his side forever.
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