Jimmy Spagnolo just finished his fourth round of chemotherapy. He celebrated by ringing the bell at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Jimmy Spagnolo danced around in his Superman shirt — drawing cheers from delighted doctors and nurses. He hugged his mom and grabbed at his little sister’s hand.
The 6-year-old had good reason to break into his happy dance. He had just finished another lengthy round of chemotherapy and finally got to celebrate with his whole family — along with a bunch of hospital staff.
Diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor when he was just 4 months old, Jimmy has spent six years on a medical roller coaster. He’s never experienced two years without tumor growth — which would mean he’d be classified as being in remission. His life has been a constant stream of doctor visits and tests.
Earlier this month, Jimmy got to mark the occasion of making it through his most recent, year-long chemotherapy treatment by ringing the celebration bell at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.
His jubilant jig was recorded on a video that quickly went viral.
“Jimmers is a happy kid,” His mother, Lacie Spagnolo, told CNN.
“He can sense people’s love for him.” That’s why he was so happy in the video — all the doctors who helped him on his journey were there to cheer him on.”
Right now, Jimmy is back at home and doing well. While the doctors haven’t been able to give the Spagnolos a definitive answer about Jimmy’s future — they are optimistic. Jimmy’s last break between chemotherapy treatments lasted 18 months and they’re hopeful that, this time, he can make it to the 2-year remission mark.
His sister Lily, who is 3 years old, is more confident in Jimmy than anyone. She often says, “Jimmy is going to be just fine. He’s going to be okay. I just know it.”
