UPDATE: MLB invites 6-year-old Royals fan with cancer to World Series

By foxsports
Published

Ryan Zimmerman, a freelance writer in Kansas, had launched an online campaign to raise money to send Wilson, his neighbor battling Ewing sarcoma, to the World Series to cheer for his favorite team. Ewing sarcoma is a rare cancer that grows in bones and soft tissue around bones. Noah has the disease in his spine.

On Thursday night, Zimmerman talked with the Daily News about his campaign, which he launched on Twitter with a barrage of tweets and has taken to a gofundme.com page, as well.

"I know his family, I coach his sister in soccer and have done that for a couple of years," Zimmerman told the Daily News, adding that he was inspired by a video posted by Noah's father during a Royals playoff game.

"He goes into the hospital after for chemo, and his dad posted a video on Facebook of Noah doing the starting lineups. I was talking to his parents and I said, 'I gotta get you tickets.' Obviously it’s a huge deal, and I’m going to make it happen."

According to the Daily News, tickets were starting at $600 on the secondary market (and those are standing room only), and Zimmerman wanted to send six Wilsons to the game — Noah, his parents, his brother and his two sisters. But the starting goal was getting Noah, his dad and his brother to a game.

As of Friday afternoon, the GoFundMe page had raised more than $9,000 — more than the original goal of $5,000.

According to the post on the GoFundMe page, Zimmerman added, "in case something happens and some stroke of luck I get tickets for much cheaper or a donation, all proceeds will be given directly to the Wilson family to help cover hospital bills."

Noah first found fame in September, when People featured his efforts to collect superhero, cartoon character and other colorful bandages for kids at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. The effort, which began after Noah found out in June the hospital had only plain bandages following a chemotherapy treatment, collected more than 3,200 boxes of such bandages in three months.

Noah has a treatment scheduled during Tuesday's Game 1, which is why Zimmerman was aiming for Game 2.

To visit Noah's GoFundMe page, click here.