Boy at Golisano's Children Hospital focuses on healing thanks to help from Naples girl

At Golisano Children's Hospital, kids like 2-year-old Mason spend more days here than they do at home.

"He has a brain tumor, it's called an astrocytoma. Unfortunately, it took over the left side of his brain," said Mason's mom, Ashley, who wants to keep their last name private.

For their family, it's been anything but easy.

"It's been a lot. An emotional rollercoaster," said Ashley.

While medicine helps heal the body, speech pathologist Andrea Marsala-Price says healing can come through something much simpler: a story.

"There are times when he's going to have procedures that are painful to him," said Marsala-Price.

"We couldn't even get him to sit up, and now he's laughing, playing, and trying to grab things," said Ashley. "He's being a normal kid again. It's amazing."

That's why when Classical Christian Academy graduate Evelyn Jasper spent her senior year donating books given to her by classmates, it made all the difference.

"I had to decide on a senior capstone project, and I'm very interested in speech pathology," said Evelyn. "It's what I want to study in the fall when I go to college. I can see already how much of a huge blessing they are, and I'm so glad."

For families facing one of the most difficult chapters of their lives, one book can't change a diagnosis, but it can help kids like Mason move forward.