For weeks, six-year-old Nixon complained that his leg hurt. His parents thought it was simply growing pains. After all, Nixon was an energetic little boy who loved playing soccer, football and baseball with his older brothers. 💙

Then, before a family trip for his brother’s baseball tournament, his parents decided to take him for a quick check-up.

His doctor recommended an X-ray.

What appeared on that scan left the family stunned.

A large tumor was growing inside Nixon’s femur. 💔

He was rushed to Primary Children’s Hospital for further testing, scans and an MRI. A biopsy soon confirmed their worst fear: the tumor was malignant.

Doctors also discovered multiple tumors in his femur, and the cancer had already spread to his lungs. 🏥🎗️

For Nixon’s parents, the diagnosis was especially heartbreaking because their family had previously experienced the loss of another child at the same hospital more than nine years earlier.

Now, they found themselves praying for their little boy once again. 💔🙏

But Nixon has continued to show incredible determination.

He dreams of playing football for BYU or Navy, becoming a Navy SEAL, and one day working as a teppanyaki chef. Just months before his diagnosis, his mother had even caught him running up the stairs and doing push-ups while wearing headphones because he said he was training to become a SEAL. 🥹💪

That fighting spirit has stayed with him.

Nixon has started chemotherapy, although treatment has brought difficult days. He later developed a fever and was hospitalized after doctors discovered a coronavirus infection. He has also experienced severe nausea and the exhaustion that comes with treatment. 💙🎗️

Yet he hasn’t been fighting alone.

Neighbors have organized fundraisers and bake sales. Supporters have created #NixonStrong shirts, military-inspired dog tags and sent cards and packages. Even the Utah Jazz Bear came to visit him. 🏀💙

When Nixon’s hair began falling out, his family turned the difficult moment into a celebration with a head-shaving party, surrounded by the growing community they call “Nixon’s Army.” 🙏✨

There are still months of treatment ahead, and his doctors will need time to determine how his body responds.

For now, his family is taking everything one day at a time.

Cherishing the good days.

Holding each other close on the hard ones.

And refusing to let cancer take away the little boy who dreams of becoming a Navy SEAL. 💙🎗️

What his family thought was ordinary growing pain turned out to be something far more serious. Now, little Nixon is facing cancer with the same determination that once made him train for his dreams — surrounded by an entire army cheering him on. 🥹💙🙏✨