PHOTOS Utah town celebrates Halloween a week early for boy dying from cancer

 

For one Utah boy, Halloween is coming a little bit early…and with a little more feeling.

Ethan van Leuven, 4, has been stricken with acute lymphoblastic lukemia. He’s had it since he was twenty-two months old, and, recently, doctors decided that his disease had become too strong for Ethan to keep fighting.

So the Salt Lake City suburb of West Jordan decided to rally around him instead.

This past Tuesday, West Jordan celebrated Halloween ten days early, in order to give the little guy one last hurrah. Ethan’s costume? Superman.

 

 

Said Ethan’s father Merrill, “We thought we would make the most of the last days he has remaining with us.”

And, according to his mother, Jennifer, “Ethan’s having a blast. It’s so much fun to watch his face light up.”

Yesterday, the town skipped a little further ahead in the calendar, banding together to give Ethan one last Christmas Eve. Decorations went up, and Santa made the rounds. Today is the day they’re celebrating Christmas proper.

 

 

Said Jennifer, “It’s a really difficult time, but this just makes it a little bit easier just to see how many people love and support [him].”

To check out more photos of the Utahn celebrations, or to leave a message of support for Ethan, visit his Facebook page.