With cancer in remission, boy going to Disney World

For nearly two years, 11-year-old Timothy Streetman has battled cancer, experiencing bouts of nausea and loss of appetite with each round of radiation and chemotherapy.

A golf ball-size tumor on his back made it difficult to walk or even breathe.

"When I first learned (I had cancer), I became sad," Timothy wrote for a class assignment. "Then I became scared because I didn't know what might happen."

Through it all, though, he smiled and kept his spirits up, his family said.

On Friday, Timothy celebrated with his classmates at Hephzibah Elementary School.

The fourth-grader's sarcoma is in remission, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation is fulfilling his wish to see Disney World and Mickey Mouse, his favorite Disney character.

He said he is excited about the trip and glad to have a break from doctor's appointments.

He still has a tube in his chest from chemotherapy.

Timothy and his family will enjoy a seven-day, all-expenses-paid trip to Orlando, Fla., to see Disney World, Sea World and Universal Studios, said Linda Gelinas, a Make-A-Wish volunteer who helped arrange the trip.

"The feeling you have you just can't explain," she said of making a sick child's wish come true.

Timothy's great-aunt Minnie Hicks, who cares for him, said he has been through a lot but now is growing, eating and has his hair and strength back.

"He would be weak and dizzy, but he still wanted to come to school, he still wanted to go to church," she said. "He was very grateful that God answered his prayer for the trip and his remission."

Cheryl Bain, Timothy's fourth-grade teacher, described him as bright, funny and full of faith in God, and a child with an "indomitable spirit."

Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.