Age 8 Girl Overcome with Emotion When Dad Tells Her He's Cancer Free

By Amanda Thomason October 7, 2019 at 11:20am

Cancer is something no one wants to think about. When it strikes someone down in their prime, it’s especially disappointing and frustrating — but there are those who manage to hit back.

Chris Dickson, 43, from Morecambe, Lancashire, found out six years ago that he had cancer. It announced its presence in the form of tumors, and he went through rounds of chemotherapy and tumor removal.

Despite removing 10 tumors and receiving chemotherapy, 16 more tumors grew and were removed.

“Hopefully I will get through this treatment and come out the other side,” he told the Lancaster Guardian in 2014.

“Having cancer has really changed my outlook on life,” he continued. “You only live once and I look at each day completely differently now.”

In October 2019, the father-of-three had his entire bladder removed to hopefully put a more permanent end to his battle. Thankfully, the operation went well and the cancer was removed.

One of his biggest fans is his daughter Maisy. Eight-year-old Maisy had never been separated from her dad overnight before, and the two-week recovery time at the hospital promised to be rough on everyone.

“I was in agony after the operation,” Chris said, according to the Daily Mail. “I still am but at least my children can wake up every day [knowing] their father is going to live.”

“Maisy has seen me battling cancer for six years, it has affected her too. It was very traumatic for her. She visited me while I was in hospital and was distraught when she left. She completely broke down.”

“She’s only 8, so we didn’t go into too much detail but we felt like we couldn’t lie to her either,” he said of telling their daughter about his condition. “For an 8-year-old to deal with all that, it’s incredible.”

In a surprise turn of events, though, Chris was released on the ninth day and decided to surprise his youngest child, who missed him terribly.

He got home, rested on the couch, and waited for his opportunity.

“I hid on the sofa in the living room and she ran upstairs,” he said, according to Daily Mail. “My wife told her to check her snapchat because her dad had sent her a message from hospital and was waiting for a reply.”

Of course, the ruse was that Chris actually sent her a picture of himself on their couch, which Maisy recognized immediately.

“She flew down the stairs and screamed when she saw me,” Chris said. “She completely broke down, I had never seen her like that before.”

“I broke down as well, I had never ever felt anyone show so much love towards me.”

The video shows an elated and tearful Maisy rushing to her father’s side and collapsing, a wonderful picture of true love. Knowing her father was home and cancer-free was one of the greatest gifts she could get.

“My daddy is my best friend and I hated him being in hospital,” she said, “now I’ve got him back cancer-free for the rest of my life.”

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