Caleb Acost has gone through more in his 15 years than most adults do in a lifetime.
“I’ve gotten used to drinking my pills, drinking like 15 pills at night,” Caleb said. “But the only thing that it affects is my energy.”
The Florida teen has been diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer. He has undergone brain surgery, rounds of radiation and physical therapy.
“No words can describe the pain that we feel watching your child go through pain and having to take medication. You know, he was healthy just six months ago,” said Cathy Franco, Caleb’s mom.
But Caleb’s illness didn’t stop him from achieving his dream.
Many San Diegans are familiar with Ricochet, the dog seen riding the waves at local beaches. Caleb learned about Ricochet when his aunt showed him a video of the surfing dog.
“It really made me so happy to be like, oh that’s so cool, I want to surf. It really inspired me,” Caleb said.
That’s when the Make-A-Wish Foundation flew him to the Del Mar Dog Beach to meet her.
On Wednesday, Caleb donned a wet suit, ditched his wheelchair and boarded a surfboard with Ricochet.
“It felt really good to be free, just to be not worrying about anything, having someone to be my balance,” Caleb said when describing his surf experience.
“When he’s under water, he doesn’t feel pain. He doesn’t feel pressure in his head,” Cathy explained.
Now, Caleb is thanking the pooch in pink for helping him get on a surfboard for the first time.
“Ricochet can control the board and helped so many people,” he said.
“I felt almost normal again. Finally.”
~ Via NBC 7 San Diego
Tags: dog helps boy, dog makes dream, dog surfs with cancer patient, Surf dog, surfing dog
