Donations pour in from around the world for Saskatoon 4-year-old with incurable brain tumour

When Jett Reis heard his grandfather was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, he shaved his own head in support of his "Gido."

He "would not be alone in the fight," his family recalls him saying. 

Now they — and a deluge of supporters worldwide — are rallying around four-year-old Jett. 

Just a few months after he shaved his head, the Saskatoon boy received his own diagnosis: a rare and incurable brain tumour, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).

"It was disbelief and questioning doctors. Maybe they make a mistake," Larisa Reis, his mother, said. 

"You feel like you're in a dream," added his father, Manny Reis. "It's so much all at once for you to even comprehend or reconcile. You can't. You just can't do it and we still can't."

The diagnosis 

During the summer, Jett started having minor headaches and a decrease in appetite. 

His parents went to the doctor and had blood work done where "everything looked really good," said Larisa Reis.

"We just kind of hoped and prayed that was the case," 

An eye exam showed no signs of concern either. 

"We were really hopeful he was one of those kids that just suffered from migraines," Larisa Reis said. 

But in early February, she came home to Jett unable to move his neck and suffering from a major headache. 

He was taken to the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital in Saskatoon, where they ran some imaging tests for cancer. 

"A few hours later we were told the news and our hearts and lives were shattered," Larisa Reis said.

Family, community rally to support Jett 

Their four other children immediately took over household duties, organizing their own schedules and doing household chores. 

Direct family members also stepped in. 

"When we came home with the news, we didn't even need to ask for anything," Manny Reis said. "They just gave us the ability to be with Jett, and try to get this figured out."

Gifts, food and toys started pouring in, but family members soon set up a GoFundMe page for Jett and his care and treatment.

Within 24 hours, $42,000 was raised. Donations surpassed the $80,000 mark in five days. It had more than $90,000 as of Thursday morning.

"We're simply overwhelmed by the support and prayers of friends, family, strangers all over the world donating," Larisa Reis said.

Jett the warrior 

Jett began radiation treatment on Feb. 11, without sedation, at the children's hospital in Saskatoon. 

"We call him a warrior because he's up for battle and he's just so strong at four years old," Larisa Reis said. 

Jett and his dad even drew the word "warrior" along with the Incredible Hulk on the hospital room window for strength. 

"He takes it to heart. He marches in there strong and comes out strong. For parents in this situation, as negative as it is, those are the positives we have to take away from it," Manny said. 

'We have to keep that hope to keep going'

Manny and Larisa have taken immediate leave from their jobs to focus on Jett, with hopes of finding him a clinical trial to assist in his fight against DIPG. 

"When you get the diagnosis of this type of cancer, it's hard to comprehend that it would even be real. So he's our son, and when they don't give you any options, you got to keep looking until you exhaust all your options," Manny Reis said. 

Finding a clinical trial has become a family effort. The money raised from the GoFundMe page will help the family in their travels should they find a trial he can be a part of. 

"One doctor in the States told us you never know when that trial is going to work, and he'll be that one kid that trial works for," Laris Reis said. 

"Even though it's slim, there are kids who have survived that, and he could be one of them. We have to keep that hope to keep going, and we pray Jett could be that one."