A young boy’s dream to have his own hockey rink came true on Thursday.
Weston is 11-years-old and he’s been through a lot.
He was diagnosed with brain cancer four years ago.
“He would do chemo on Wednesdays and Wednesday nights was practice. He would do whatever he could to possibly still go. But he would be sick the next couple of days. Hockey is really what’s gotten him through this last four and a half years,” said his father, Jared Hermann.
Hockey is Weston’s passion.
“My dream is to be a hockey player in the NHL. So I obviously can’t be a hockey player now, but if I get stuff to help me with it and get better, then I’ll eventually get there,” Weston said.
The Children’s Dream Fund, along with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Thunder Bug, gave Weston a big surprise Thursday. He received his own hockey rink.
“When you plan a dream, it takes your mind off the things that you’re facing in the medical arena and that’s been true for Weston. He really gave it a lot of thought… he knew what he wanted,” said Children’s Fund Executive Director Cynthia Farrell.
It’s something he and friends can practice on that won’t melt.
It make the tough times a little easier.
“Sometimes you have to tell them things that they don’t want to go to, and you have to anyway. So this is something he can share with his friends and it’s wonderful that there are people that donate to causes like this,” said mom, Marcie.
The rink helps him power through those tough moments. His next goal is to convince mom to let him put the rink inside.
“I’m going to put this in the living room and skate around all night,” Weston said.
