Kids battling rare diseases become superheroes
INSIDE EDITION - A 5-year-old boy battling neuroblastoma had the chance to become Batman for a day, thanks to a moving photo shoot that transformed cancer-stricken kids into superheroes.
Simon Fulmer, 5, of Sandy, Utah, could be seen standing tall and proud in a Batman costume for photographer Josh Rossi’s Justice League-themed photo shoot.
“A friend of mine recommended Simon because Simon’s been obsessed with Batman all his life,” his mom, Trisha Fulmer, 34, told InsideEdition.com. “He never cries or complains about anything. He’s tough. He’s very bossy. He lets people know where he stands and what he wants them to do. Simon is Batman.”
The boy's health issues started in January, when Fulmer said her son complained of pains in his knees and legs.
“We thought he was just being needy,” she explained. “But it just got worse and he started getting fevers every day.”
After countless tests and exams, doctors discovered a tumor above his right kidney. A second scan showed he had neuroblastoma cells spread all over his body.
Since then, Simon has been treated with surgery, chemotherapy, transplants and a variety of other treatments.
“It’s been very hard,” Simon’s mom said. “Mostly, he’s just been sad and just keeps saying, ‘I need the cancer out of me. When can we go home?’”
Doctors said there is no evidence of the disease left in his body, but Simon will have months of treatment to go before he he's in the clear.
But the recent photo shoot brightened his spirits and gave him strength to continue battling the disease, said Fulmer, who also has a 10-month-old daughter, Meg.
Whenever nurses ask about the photo shoot, Simon perks up and responds, “Yeah, I’m the real Batman. Batman’s 5.”
Photographer Josh Rossi, who reached viral fame after transforming portraits of his daughter into scenes from Beauty and the Beast and Wonder Woman, said he wanted to find kids with “real superhuman strength,” to form his Justice League.
Also featured in the photo series was 5-year-old Kayden Kinckle, who walks with two prosthetic legs, as Cyborg.