HAMPTON, Va. - Elijah Williams was not expecting the series of FaceTime calls he received last weekend.
“Look, Elijah - it’s J. Cole! Look - it’s J. Cole, Elijah!" says a family member.
That’s the Grammy award-winning, North Carolina native J. Cole.
“Yessir. I love you, dude!" said J. Cole.
That wasn’t the only FaceTime call the 11-year-old received. Singer The Weeknd also dialed in to chat with Williams.
“I’m honored that you find me to be one of your favorite artists, buddy. Thank you,” said The Weeknd.
The Weeknd's fellow Canadian musician Drake also joined in on the fun.
“He just loves The Weekend. He loves J. Cole. He loves Drake - that’s the type of music he liked,” said Elijah’s mother, Kiara Swope.
She says these calls brought peace and happiness to her child, who had been battling cancer for the third time.
“In December is when his cancer came back inside of his stomach, and it perforated and it burst,” Swope adds.
Elijah passed away on Friday March 27, but the day before he died, he got a video message from his NASCAR champion best friend Joey Logano, whom he met at the Daytona 500 in February.
“I wanted to send a message and help your spirits a little bit and tell you that I miss you,” said Logano.
Now, Elijah’s family is missing their fighter. His 9-year-old sister, Morgan, says she’s going to miss her big brother.
“He wasn’t selfish. He never complained, even when he had the right to. He never complained; he was just a nice brother,” she said.
Because of the coronavirus outbreak that doesn’t allow groups of more than 10 to gather, the family wasn’t able to give Elijah the memorial celebration they had in mind.
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“It was a still nice and intimate with the close people that were around him,” said his mother.
During this time when most people are being forced to stay indoors, Kiara says don’t take your family for granted.
“Love on your kids regardless if they have an ailment or not and you know their time may be near - just still love on them because life is too short, and you don’t want to miss that time with your babies,” she adds.
Swope says her NASCAR baby made it to the finish line.
“You crossed the finish line, baby. You finished this race.”
Swope says Elijah’s story doesn’t end here. She is working to raise awareness about childhood cancer and limited funding.
For more information on how to support childhood cancer research, click here.
