A 12-year-old boy is using his experience with sickle cell disease to inspire other young patients. Using the power of creativity, Todd Parker of Queens, New York, wrote a book about a superhero in his likeness.
“I was thinking, ‘What do I want to do to help uplift other kids and myself?'” Todd tells PIX11 Thursday, Oct. 5. “I sort of thought maybe a superhero type of vibe. ‘Cause, I mean, who doesn’t like a good superhero?”
“The Adventures Of The Sickler: The Transformation,” was published in September and centers on The Sickler, a hero who doesn’t let sickle cell keep him down. Todd decided to write the children’s book during one of his frequent hospital stays.
“It’s me, transformed into a superhero helping other kids fight through their illnesses,” Todd says.
He began reading to 4-year-old cancer patient King during his treatments at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York City thanks to comedian and social media star Majah Hype.
“It felt good,” Todd says of reading to King after Majah Hype linked the two together. “I saw that [King] got needles, IV’s ports in his chest and it’s really sad to think why does someone have to go through that? He inspires me and he motivates me to keep fighting through my illness myself.”
