On Friday, January 3, Jack’s Helping Hand arranged a special lunch where 12-year-old cancer survivor David Cruz met his own personal hero, Bill Mortimer, the stranger who helped save Cruz’s life five years ago.
In 2008, Mortimer heard about a young boy named David Cruz who was suffering from a rare form of cancer – Mortimer’s longtime friend was the boy’s in-home teacher. It was around that fateful time that Mortimer met Jack’s Helping Hand Co-Founder Bridget Ready at a Christmas party he helped organize as the events director for the San Luis Obispo Country Club.
“We introduced ourselves; I told him what I did and the good work that Jack’s Helping Hand does, and he mentioned David Cruz and his situation,” Ready said. “I immediately dropped what I was doing to get as much information as I could, and the next day, we sent someone out to the Cruz’s house to help them on their journey to beat cancer. Every year, Bill would ask me, ‘How’s David doing?’ and this year, I was happy to tell him that David is now five years cancer-free.”
Mortimer was ecstatic upon hearing the news, she said, and mentioned that meeting Cruz was on his wish list. So, Ready took them out to lunch at the place where it all started. Cruz, his mother Christina Cruz, Mortimer and Ready gathered at the San Luis Obispo Country Club on Friday, January 3 at noon and the connection was immediate. The group laughed, shared stories and embraced.
Over the past several years, Jack’s Helping Hand has provided financial help and moral support for David Cruz and his family for necessary surgeries, cancer treatments, and follow-up doctor appointments at City of Hope in Los Angeles. The nonprofit’s goal was to ease the family’s burden as much as possible. Unfortunately, Cruz’s leg had to be amputated, but he was given a prosthetic leg and at 12-years-old is proud to say he’s cancer free.
“David was very brave, and we’re here to celebrate,” Ready said at the lunch.
Mortimer went through a similar situation when he was 10 and had to have major surgery following an accident. An organization called Crippled Children’s Fund helped Mortimer’s family pay for the surgery.
“That kind of surgery was very scary at 10 years old; I can only imagine how scary your surgery was at 7,” Mortimer told Cruz during their lunchtime conversation. “In 2008, helping you was the bright spot in my year.”
Jack’s Helping Hand provides community programs and support to families in San Luis Obispo County of children with special needs, whether they are mental, physical or medical needs. When local families have nowhere else to turn, they turn to Jack’s Helping Hand.
Visit www.jackshelpinghand.org or call (805) 547-1914 for more information on the nonprofit’s programs and services.