ASHEBORO, N.C. — Christmas cards and gifts continue to drive an outpouring of Christmas spirit and generosity for a 9-year-old Triad boy dealing with an array of medical issues.
William Sidebottom's simple request for Christmas cards to cheer him up delivered an overwhelming response that not only brought encouragement but hope as well.
Sidebottom has spent the past few weeks sifting through thousands of Christmas cards sent in by members of the public from across the Triad and beyond.
William also made many friends since his request.
On Tuesday, Asheboro area firefighters, EMS, and rescue personnel delivered cards and gifts they collected.
They reached out to various firefighters and emergency personnel around the country, with the goal of collecting 1000 cards for William. They ended up with more cards and gifts than they ever anticipated.
"We have collected somewhere now close to 1,800 cards from different emergency services organizations across the country and across the world, we've had a couple of cards from Germany come in," said Capt. Matthew Hunt of Westside Fire And Rescue.
Photo Gallery: Asheboro Firefighters Deliver 1,800 cards to 9-year old boy with failing heart
William suffers from a heart condition. Earlier this month, doctors told the family his immune system was rejecting his transplanted heart. Jennifer, William's mother, voiced her worries on social media, saying doctors feared William would not be able to get on the donor list for a new heart.
The news saddened the 9-year old, so he searched for a way to cheer up everyone around him.
William's mom said after weeks of anxiety over William's health, they've got some hopeful news from the doctors.
"They want to do chemotherapy, to restart his immune system, it's a nice way to put it, to sort of kill off everything we've built over the years, and then put a new transplant," said Jennifer Lowery.
Lowery said the plan discussed with the doctor is to keep William on chemotherapy until they are able to match him with a new heart and carry out a heart transplant.
"It definitely is a miracle, a scary miracle but it is great and much better than just giving up," she added.
William's mom said the family is thankful for all the support, donations, prayers and words of encouragement in all the cards they've received.
The family plans to pay it forward by donating the excess and duplicate gifts to foster children in Randolph County.
In the meantime, William's mom is sharing photos of some of the different cards that have come in the mail.
