PALMETTO – “He wakes up every day with a smile on his face and although he has over 15 diagnosis’s. He just absolutely lives his life with such positiveness,” said Cynthia Gonzalez.
7-year-old Cassiel Santos was born 22 weeks premature and mainly suffers from Cerebral Palsy. He was given a less than five percent chance to live but has defied the odds ever since. Gonzalez, his mom, says Cass is just like any other kid.
“I take him to museums, I take him to the zoo, I take him to the dog park with the dog, he goes out to amusement parks we go to the skate park, we got to the water park,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez says Christmas is Cass’ favorite time of the year and thanks to the Secret Sleigh Project he recently got to meet Santa. Gonzalez caught the magic moment on tape.
The video went viral and has been shared more than 500 times on Facebook. Gonzalez says she was overwhelmed by the outreach.
“I was just absolutely astonished by all the positive feedback that came out of this video and that so many were just touch by his laughter, and his joy, and his smile,” said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez says Cass is now learning to communicate better thanks to the tobii dynavox that tracks Cass’ eye gaze to relay what he wants to say to images on the screen.
To further share Cassiel’s journey his mom has started a Facebook page to teach other about acceptance to those who face disabilities.
