Five-year-old Nathan Norman?s wide grin would never reveal his battle with cancer. He plays, jumps and chases like other children, but since the age of 2, Nathan has struggled with brain cancer.
?Nathan is such an amazing spirit,? his mother, Dawn Norman, said. ?He has the best attitude.?
On Christmas Eve in 2007, just before his first birthday, Nathan began having seizures. A year later, he was experiencing about 10 to 15 seizures per month. An MRI in January of 2009 revealed that Nathan had a tumor on his brain.
?Your life changes, and you can?t ever go back,? Dawn Norman said.
Nathan underwent brain surgery, but the doctor could only remove about a half of the tumor. In October of 2011, another MRI showed that the tumor had grown. A new tumor also had developed inside his spinal cord.
?It?s been a roller coaster,? Bobby Norman, Nathan?s father, said. ?It scares us to death.?
On Saturday, two of Dawn and Bobby Norman?s former foster children organized a party at the New London Ruritan Club to lift the family?s spirits. Jessica Johnson and Tasha Jacynyk squeezed in all the holidays of the year into a few hours ? including Nathan?s favorite, Christmas.
?The whole family needs it,? Johnson said. ?We?re just trying to help out good people.?
Children arrived in Halloween costumes, waiting to have their faces painted. Johnson and Jacynyk, dressed as St. Patrick?s Day leprechauns, led them into a large room decorated in Christmas lights. Santa and Mrs. Claus waited to hear their Christmas wishes.
?This is just amazing,? Dawn Norman said Saturday afternoon. ?It means a lot.?
The Bedford County Sheriff?s office brought three cars for Nathan to ride in. Members of the ABATE Motorcycle club thundered into the parking lot. Other organizations made donations for Nathan, his parents and his siblings: 9-year-old Sarah, 7-year-old Matthew and 2-year-old Tabitha.
Nathan will return to Duke University Medical Center Wednesday for more treatment.
Since 2009, he has undergone chemotherapy and multiple medications. Nathan had to be taken off two of those medications, Vinblastine and Avastin, this past spring.
?It was causing his quality of life to decrease so bad,? Dawn Norman said.
Weary from treatment, Nathan found comfort in Christmas.
?He really likes the lights on the trees,? Nathan?s grandmother, Lisa Mc-Cormick said. ?He wanted Christmas, to feel better.?
In the summer heat, twinkling lights appeared around the Rustburg house. A tree decorated with ornaments stands in the living room. The Norman?s neighbors noticed, unloading their boxes of decorations months ahead to comfort Nathan.
?It?s all up and down the street,? McCormick said.
Nathan?s story pushed others toward the Christmas spirit. On Sept. 26, representatives from Gleaning for the World arrived at Nathan?s home with presents, snow and a sleigh.
?Everyone was chomping at the bits to help out,? said Evan Husted, communications director for the nonprofit.
McCormick distracted Nathan and his siblings as volunteers recreated a white Christmas.
?We had boxes and boxes of synthetic snow,? Husted said.
Husted added that the family?s reaction was well worth their efforts.
?You could see the emotion on their faces,? Husted said. ?Dawn and Bobby went around hugging everybody.?
Family members said Nathan knows the serious nature of his condition.
?His biggest fear is that we?re going to be sad,? Bobby Norman said. ?He?s a very giving child.?
Nathan?s treatments are an attempt to stabilize his tumors, but will not end his fight with cancer.
?He?ll tell you he?s not scared,? Dawn Norman said.
Amid all of Saturday?s holidays, Nathan said Christmas remains his favorite.
?It?s God?s birthday,? Nathan said.
Nathan?s Christmas spirit has impacted many people outside of Rustburg. Bobby Norman said it takes the postal service a while to deliver all of Nathan?s Christmas cards.
?We get cards from around the world,? Matthew said. Christmas cards pour into their Rustburg home, as Nathan spreads Christmas spirit and hopefully will continue to do for a long time.
As McCormick said, watching Nathan play, ?You don?t give up on miracles.?
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