Mathias Giordano was a 13 year old boy in Leesburg who was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, cancer of the bone, in July of 2012. Over the past 28 months, he endured biopsies, port placement, 30+ rounds of high dose chemo, 3 major lung surgeries, an amputation of his right leg below the knee, and 27 rounds of radiation. Not to mention a few clinical trials. Needless to say, Mathias was a strong warrior who fought with so much grace and dignity. His courage and spirit inspire everyone who was lucky enough to meet him. His smile lit up the room and his positive outlook was truly amazing. Mathias battled the ugly beast of cancer with poise. Taking one day at a time and trying to live life at its fullest. While was fighting for his life he was determined to make a difference and spread awareness for pediatric cancer in our community. He wanted people to know that kids get cancer too and that they can't fight alone. He also knew that not every child who is battling is lucky enough to have the love and support of their family or friends. Here is a story to prove my point : About one year into his treatment, he met an other boy (about his age) at the hospital who's mom couldn't t be there during his treatments and the dad was not around. Mathias felt so guilty about the amount of support that he had. That night when we came home from the hospital, he said mom: I have have been given too many gifts and need to share them with my new friend as he NEEDS these more than I do. He has nothing or no one to kill the time with at the hospital, he must be so bored. So he simply packed up a big box of toys, books, activities, movies, brain teasers, gift cards and asked me to take him back to the hospital the next day. At the time he was in a wheelchair, but I remember him rolling into this kids room with a huge smile on his face, he was so happy and so proud to share all that love with his new friend. I actually just stood in the hallway and couldn't stop crying. Cancer may have stopped him from having a normal childhood, but cancer can't change who he was as a person and it most certainly never defined this young man. He was the author of his journey, not cancer. We are so proud of him.