Mason Hoyt's journey from a wheelchair to walking tall is a miracle. In April, Mason left Golisano Children's Hospital in a wheelchair after undergoing brain surgery. This life-saving discovery came after his parents took him to the emergency room following a bullying incident at school.
A young brain surgery patient, Mason Hoyt, shared, "I feel great. It feels like yesterday that I couldn't even move my leg."
His father, Ben Hoyt, recalled, "We thought we were coming here just to get a quick check-over and a clean bill of health, and we were given the news that we had a brain tumor."
Now, Mason is running around with his four-legged friend, Lemon, a facility dog from the hospital who brightened his recovery.
"I thought it would take over a year to get fully better, right? But I'm like 90% better now," Mason said.
After his hospital stay, Mason and his family fulfilled a long-awaited trip to Disneyland in California, a journey they had planned for two years.
"In every single plane ride, there was turbulence," Mason said. "No problem. I thought it was kind of fun."
Mason rode his favorite rollercoaster 13 times during the trip.
He remains thoughtful of others even as he celebrates his recovery. When asked what he wants people to know about his story, Mason said, "I wanted to make it like, so that they feel how I feel, so they can get over their fear if it happens to them."
Mason's tumor, a juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma, is benign and rarely becomes cancerous. He is monitored with scans every three months and continues weekly physical and occupational therapy.
"We didn't know what to expect, so sitting here today, we're just really thankful that this is where we're at, and everyone's doing good, huh?" said Meghan Hoyt, Mason's mother.
From a wheelchair to walking tall, Mason Hoyt's journey is truly a miracle moment.
Mason plans to run a 5K at Disney in the spring and will start fourth grade next week. The Hoyt family is grateful for the support of their community throughout this journey.