“We do it to make sure he feels the power,” says mother Natalia Hernandez.
DALLAS – Leone Hernandez is scared and his parents can see the fear on his face.
Every time he goes to the hospital, he worries that he will feel “ouchie”. And had a lot of hospital visits.
Three-year-old Plano was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2021.
Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer and is treatable. But the treatment was chemotherapy, and that’s what scared Leone.
To harness the courage his mother, Natalia, and father, Dario, know their son has, they decide to dress him up as a superhero.
But they don’t stop there. They also wear clothes.
They buy Superman, Spider-Man, Batman and Captain America costumes for their families – even Leone’s younger brother Emiliano.
Now, for every chemotherapy visit and doctor’s appointment, the whole family is dressed to activate their superpowers.
“We believe we have the superpowers we need to face this battle,” Natalia said. “We have to make sure Leo feels that.”
“We do it to make sure he feels the power.”
Dr. Laura Klesse, Leone’s physician at Children’s Medical Center, says there is a clear mind-body connection in cancer outcomes.
“Their family brought this, we are family, we are getting this, and we are all going to do it together,” Klesse said.
Natalia is Mi Cocina’s restaurant manager, and during last weekend in April, Mi Cocina donated a portion of the proceeds to Children’s Health Foundation.
Natalia said Leone has inspired his entire family.
“It was hard to watch him fight,” she said, “but he showed us that anything is possible in life.”
For more information on how to help kids like Leone, visit RedBalloonLeague.com.
