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An Alabama teenager is going viral while he fights for access to care he believes could save his life — and he hopes his plea can also help others facing the same battle.Fifteen-year-old Will Roberts told sister station WVTM he has been battling stage 4 osteosarcoma for nearly a year and a half. The rare and aggressive form of bone cancer has taken away the things he loves most, including fishing, hunting and playing sports. He said living with cancer has been frustrating.“I was very, very frustrated after it had spread everywhere again, because I knew the road was just going to be just as long — if not longer — because I thought I had completely made it. I rang the bell and everything, and they told me I was cancer-free, but then a little bit later they looked at the scans and they saw something was wrong,” Will said.Will said his mother, Brittney Roberts, found a drug they believe could help save his life, but getting access to it has been extremely difficult. Will said watching his family worry pushed him to do something. Already logged into his mother’s Facebook account on his phone, Will posted a video asking for help and urging people to share his story, hoping it would get to President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.The nearly three-minute post quickly gained traction, drawing more than three million views on Facebook alone.Jason Roberts said the response moved faster than anything the family was able to do on its own. He said he and Brittney worked for a week to get their plea to Washington, D.C., but Will was able to do it in just a matter of hours.“This is like living a nightmare, honestly, but I would be remiss if I didn’t give God the glory through this because there’s been a lot of sunshine in this as well,” Jason said. “It hasn’t always been gloom and doom. We have always looked at this as we’re not going to be victims of this. We’re not going to be defined by this, and me and Brittney have said that we refuse to mourn him while he’s still with us. We’re going to enjoy every single day with him as a gift because he is God’s gift to us, and we’re going to enjoy every single minute of it.”The family said the video has now been seen by U.S. Sens. Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville. They also said it caught the attention of Dr. Mehmet Oz, who they say reached out personally to the developers of the drug.Even with the uncertainty ahead, Will said he is holding tightly to his faith. And even in the middle of his own battle, Will said he is still thinking about how this could help other children who are facing cancer.Jason said the family still has a long way to go before they can get Will the medicine, but a plan is starting to come together. Will’s parents said treatment would require the family to spend three weeks in California while he’s treated, but that could be difficult while balancing full-time jobs. They are not giving up hope, though.
An Alabama teenager is going viral while he fights for access to care he believes could save his life — and he hopes his plea can also help others facing the same battle.
Fifteen-year-old Will Roberts told sister station WVTM he has been battling stage 4 osteosarcoma for nearly a year and a half. The rare and aggressive form of bone cancer has taken away the things he loves most, including fishing, hunting and playing sports. He said living with cancer has been frustrating.
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“I was very, very frustrated after it had spread everywhere again, because I knew the road was just going to be just as long — if not longer — because I thought I had completely made it. I rang the bell and everything, and they told me I was cancer-free, but then a little bit later they looked at the scans and they saw something was wrong,” Will said.
Will said his mother, Brittney Roberts, found a drug they believe could help save his life, but getting access to it has been extremely difficult. Will said watching his family worry pushed him to do something. Already logged into his mother’s Facebook account on his phone, Will posted a video asking for help and urging people to share his story, hoping it would get to President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
The nearly three-minute post quickly gained traction, drawing more than three million views on Facebook alone.
Jason Roberts said the response moved faster than anything the family was able to do on its own. He said he and Brittney worked for a week to get their plea to Washington, D.C., but Will was able to do it in just a matter of hours.
“This is like living a nightmare, honestly, but I would be remiss if I didn’t give God the glory through this because there’s been a lot of sunshine in this as well,” Jason said. “It hasn’t always been gloom and doom. We have always looked at this as we’re not going to be victims of this. We’re not going to be defined by this, and me and Brittney have said that we refuse to mourn him while he’s still with us. We’re going to enjoy every single day with him as a gift because he is God’s gift to us, and we’re going to enjoy every single minute of it.”
The family said the video has now been seen by U.S. Sens. Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville. They also said it caught the attention of Dr. Mehmet Oz, who they say reached out personally to the developers of the drug.
Even with the uncertainty ahead, Will said he is holding tightly to his faith. And even in the middle of his own battle, Will said he is still thinking about how this could help other children who are facing cancer.
Jason said the family still has a long way to go before they can get Will the medicine, but a plan is starting to come together. Will’s parents said treatment would require the family to spend three weeks in California while he’s treated, but that could be difficult while balancing full-time jobs. They are not giving up hope, though.
