LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. — Uale Sua is an active 12-year-old.
“I like to play sports, I like to play football, I wrestle, and I play rugby,” Sua said.
Plus, you’d find him and his family at Urban HIIT Fit Gym in Lee’s Summit. But playing sports took a back seat after his mom noticed something on his leg.
“We noticed Uale had been limping around February 2020. It was during wrestling season,” Numia Vala Sua, Uale’s mom, said.
After months of doctors visits and the limp not going away, Numia Vala Sua had doctors do an MRI on Uale.
That’s when they discovered the tumor around a bone in his leg.
“It was a surprising news for us to hear the word cancer. But we told ourselves it’s ok, we got this,” Numia said.
“I had a cancer called Ewing Sarcoma and I was diagnosed August of last year. Did chemo therapy for 9 months,” Uale said.
While undergoing treatment, Uale said his friend and owner of Urban HIT Fit Gym was there helping him through his battle.
“He helped donated money towards my cause, for the bills that I needed to pay,” Uale said.
During his treatments, Uale was granted a wish through Make-A-Wish.
Wishes through Make-A-Wish fall under four categories. “I wish to go,” “I wish to be,” “I wish to meet,” or “I wish to have.”
But Uale’s wish was unique. He wished to give back.
He wished to give back to the gym that helped him through his journey.
“I felt like I should give back because, I didn’t want to think of myself because I don’t like to think of myself but for others,” Uale said.
“That is the kind of person that he is. He always showed that mentality of helping a friend,” Numia said.
His wish was to see upgrades in his gym.
“We worked with him to develop a wish list of items he wanted to supply and things he wanted to do the facility,” Brian Miller from Make-A-Wish Missouri & Kansas said.
As Uale celebrates being cancer free, his family says the party is a thank you for the community’s help along the way.
“It took a lot of hope, a lot of faith, a lot of you guys to get us here to have this celebration,” Numia said during a speech.
“I think it’s awesome, to have everyone here together. It brings me a lot of joy,” Uale said.