Utah Town Is Celebrating Halloween and Christmas Early for a Little Boy With Terminal Cancer

Ethan Van Leuven, a four-year-old boy, wore his Superman costume 10 days early

By Jenna Mullins Oct 24, 2014 5:17 PMTags
Ethan Van Leuven, TodayToday

Christmas and Halloween is coming early to a small town in Utah, but for a very tragic reason.

Ethan Van Leuven, an adorable four-year-old boy who lives in West Jordan, Utah, has been battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia since he was two years old. Recently, doctors told him that his condition is no longer treatable, and he is now terminal.

"The doctors basically said, he's got two days to a couple of weeks left to live, and so that's when we thought we would make the most of the last days he has remaining with us,'' Ethan's father Merrill  told Today

Today

With two big holidays coming up, Ethan's family and the entire town has banded together to give him the celebration he deserves. So this past Tuesday, a full 10 days before Halloween, the neighborhood put on a trick-or-treating event for him. Ethan wore a Superman costume and "had a blast," according to his mother Jennifer.

"It's so much fun to watch his face light up," she says. "It's a really difficult time, but this just makes it a little bit easier just to see how many people love and support."

Today

Ethan also got to celebrate his birthday a month early when the town threw a parade in his honor, and this weekend the community will have a special Christmas for him, which just happens to be his favorite holiday. The neighborhood will put up Christmas decorations, and on Saturday, Ethan will open presents under the tree.

It's ironic that Ethan wore a Superman costume to go trick-or-treating, because he doesn't need that outfit to show his strength. In fact, we think he has more strength of spirit than all the superheroes combined. 

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