SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — On a sunny Sunday in Suffolk, a local non-profit helped others reach new heights.
From cancer patients to oncologists, people were skydiving to raise money for pediatric cancer research in honor of a special little boy.
“Our son, Dalton, was diagnosed with an Ewing sarcoma,” said Will Fox, Dalton’s dad. “It was a bone cancer in his left tibia.”
That diagnosis of Ewing sarcoma came in 2018. Rounding third base, after his first home run, 8-year-old Dalton Fox had no idea his life would change forever. His dad said despite the news, Dalton would crack jokes at his own expense to keep spirits high.
Even when cancer took his leg, he wouldn’t let it bring him down.
“He’d say, ‘Dad, can we go get a pedicure?’ I said, ‘What for?’ He said, ‘I want to see if I get half off’. So, I’d say ‘hop to it dog’. And he rolled his eyes and said, ‘I’m gonna put my best foot forward, dad’.”
And he did. Every step and every surgery, Will said Dalton put his best foot forward. Pushing for himself and his family.
Dalton took his final steps in 2021at just 12 years old.
“The day before he died, my wife Jen and I promised him, we’d keep fighting for kids like him,” Will said. “And I gave him a hug, and I whispered in his ear, I said, ‘Dalton, I would take all this stuff from you if I could,’ which I would have in a heartbeat.”
“He whispered in my ear back. He said, ‘Dad, I wouldn’t want you to.’ And he passed away the next day.”
Many people don’t get the chance to meet their heroes, but Will said he did. His son Dalton is his hero in every way. Positive, kind and extremely brave.
That’s why before he passed away, Will said he wasn’t shocked when Dalton asked to go sky diving.
“You have to be 18. And so unfortunately, Dalton didn’t get to do it. And he knows his dad is a big chicken. I’m scared of heights,” explained Will.
But sometimes even chickens find themselves taking flight for a brief moment. One day, Will did take flight to skydive for the first time. He said he knew Dalton would want him to.
“I said, ‘If Dalton can go through what he did, I can do this.’ So I faced my fears and and jumped out of a plane… for Dalton,” he explained.
Dalton wasn’t just Will’s hero; he was his inspiration. The inspiration that gave life to D-Feet Cancer, a non-profit created by Will and Jen Fox in honor of their son.
“We decided to form a non-profit to raise money for cancer research for kids like him. We often called Dalton ‘D’. So, there’s a ‘D’ and ‘D-Feet’ is just a humorous play on words because he was missing his left leg,” he said with a smile, knowing Dalton would approve.
On Sunday, D-Feet Cancer gathered other cancer patients, family friends and even oncology doctors to take to the skies at Skydive Suffolk for the chance of a lifetime. Dalton’s mom would typically be there supporting everyone alongside Will but had a family emergency to care for.
The money raised Sunday goes straight to the frontlines, helping raise money for pediatric cancer research.
“That’s why we’re doing it – for him. And while we’re doing it, raise money to help kids like him,” Will said.
Will never thought he would jump out of a plane, but he also never thought cancer would take his son. He’s hoping today is just one good foot forward, as Dalton would say, towards ending pediatric cancer.
“I wish we had a cure for cancer. I told Dalton’s doctor all the time, ‘I wish I never met you.’ And she’d reply, ‘Well, I wish I was unemployed.’ Kids like Dalton need help. Before I was a cancer parent, I thought somebody else. It was somebody else’s problem. It wouldn’t happen to me. And no one gives you a survey saying was your kid, would you like your kid to get cancer? It just happens.”
If you would like to help further research for pediatric cancer treatments, click here. Your donation will directly fund research designed to find targeted therapies and treatments for Ewing sarcoma and other lesser studied pediatric cancers.
For more information on Dalton’s story, click here.
