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Parade held for cancer-free Cicero boy
A Cicero third-grader has a lot to celebrate this holiday season. He is now cancer free!
CICERO, Ill. - A Cicero third-grader has a lot to celebrate this holiday season. He is now cancer free!
On Friday, the community and his classmates came out to cheer on the eight-year-old.
It has been a very difficult three years for Jencarl Ponton, a third-grader at the Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Cicero.
"There were days where it was really hard to come to school and there were days he would be here, but it was really hard to stay," said Kristina Moreno, assistant principal at the school.
However, he’s celebrating a major milestone, with help from the Cicero police and fire departments.
Ponton walked the block around his school, cheered on by classmates waving signs and sirens from a dozen Cicero police and fire vehicles, forming a mini parade.
Three years ago, Ponton was in kindergarten when he was diagnosed with leukemia. He spent a lot of time in the hospital, undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy. But now, doctors say he is cancer-free.
"He was taking medication for the last three years and it was not easy," said Carlos Ponton, the boy’s father. "Medication is strong for a little kid."
On Tuesday, he will get to ring the celebration bell at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, signaling the official end of his treatment, which is why the school wanted to celebrate the milestone on Friday.
"We just want to let him and his family know that we love them, and that he gets to now enjoy a life as an 8-year-old without having to go through what he has gone through," said principal Gretchen Gorgal.
"He made it out. He had it, he beat it, he's free. Just like his shirt says. He's truly my inspiration and my hero," said Ponton’s sister, Ashley.