Danny Nickerson, the ailing boy with the simplest of birthday wishes, was declared dead by doctors. In 2014, he was diagnosed with brain tumor that doctors termed as inoperable, when he was just five years old, and became an internet sensation when his wish to receive birthday cards for his birthday vent viral.
Nickerson's parents asked him what he wanted for his birthday in July, shortly after he was diagnosed with the tumor. He responded that he wanted to have birthday cards for this birthday. This moving request was shared to the public by a local newspaper, who published the story and this made the story go viral, according to Boston Globe.
Hailing from the Foxboro, Massachusetts, Nickerson soon became a sensation and received more than 200,000 cards, letters and greetings from people round the world. Lauren Eliopoulos, a friend of the Nickerson family says that the six-year-old was a sort of inspiration to people round the world and he was grateful that people from round the world sent him cards, which made a big difference in Nickerson's life, according to WPRI.
Even the New England Patriots called him over to a practice session and gave him a moment to cherish by singing the "Happy Birthday" song for him. The local policemen and firefighters threw a special parade in honor of Nickerson.
Phil Giardino, a trooper of the Massachusetts State Police, had brought some of the horses from the State Police to visit Nickerson and cheer him up. He said that they boy had reached and touched hundreds of thousands of people from round the nation with his story and he also added that people will come to remember his legacy for years to come from now.
His story had created nationwide attention and soon the twitter tag #cardsfordanny was trending online for quite a while. The funeral is to be held on April 22 at 11 a.m. at St. Mary's Church in Wrentham.