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Boy with kidney tumor throws First Pitch for Norfolk Tides game

Posted at 4:39 AM, Jul 02, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-02 11:10:39-04

NORFOLK, Va. - While jeers from fans can come from a bad First Pitch on a normal game day at baseball fields across the nation, Harbor Park was all positive vibes on Sunday when David Johnson took the mound.

The 2-year-old is battling a kidney tumor and has been through seven grueling rounds of chemotherapy and 20 hours of radiation treatment at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters.

While Johnson may be going through a lot "off the field," he embraced fully Sunday what his family has known is his passion for a while now. Baseball.

Johnson's mother says that he just cannot put down his plastic T-ball set, though he has many toys to play with.

For the Johnson family, this moment meant just as much to him as it did for the 2-year-old.

"It's amazing," said Johnson's mother. "I feel like a proud mom for him to have the opportunity to throw an actual real baseball on the field."

It hasn't been easy to cherish moments that most parents can with their son. The Johnson's explained that because of their son's condition, it is hard for him to do things that normal kids can do because of his suppressed immune system.

"I am more grateful for the tiniest things, said David Johnson's mother. "just to go outside and play, and watch him play."

The family said that even little things like going to Chuckey Cheese, McDonald's and going to a movie theatre can be harmful because of the medical issues David faces.

In recent months tubes, nurses and IV's surrounding their son constantly. They are enjoying that he is surrounded by a field, a bat and his passion for baseball.

The Johnson's will take this victory. And while David isn't fully recovered, the family moment at the park was a great experience that brought meaning and value to a family going through so much.