ROUND ROCK, Texas — It takes a lot of courage to battle cancer, especially if it's your second time. And even more so if you're only three-years-old.
"He just wants to be a normal kid,” Brandy Hanson said.
Her son, Colton, has been in the hospital for the past few months.
"My little boy that was doing donuts around the garage in his little tricycle ... [he] can barely walk now,” Hanson said.
According to her, Colton was first diagnosed with a rare form of cancer -- Acute Myloid Lukemia -- at just 10 months old. He went through months of chemotherapy.
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"He came through with flying colors, and he was a survivor,” Hanson said.
In remission, he got to go to the beach, play with his dog and just feel like a normal kid again.
But just after his two-year mark, when doctors said he was officially a survivor, the cancer came back.
"Now here we are, back in the fight again,” Hanson said. "If anything makes this even harder, it’s the fact that we thought we were past the riskiest point and here we are in it again.”
This time, Colton needs a bone marrow transplant. But, in order to do that, he first needs to be in remission.
"I wish the prognosis was better than it is, but he's our fighter, so we're, you know, praying that he gets through it,” Hanson said.
He's going through chemo again to try to get there.
"He has had a rough six weeks and spent most of that just bed-ridden. And so, he's very, very weak,” Hanson said.
It's taking a toll on the whole family. His dad is at home with his two sisters, while his mom stays with Colton at the hospital.
"You can't just have a child with cancer and check them in and go to work every day,” Hanson said.
That's why a family friend, Dede Johnson, is stepping in to help raise money.
"He needs his parents by his side,” Johnson said.
From selling "Courageous Colton" T-shirts and wristbands, to holding fundraising events, Johnson is working to help the Hanson family financially.
"I just want to help as much as I can so they can really pay attention to Colton and worry about supporting him, and not have to worry about the other things in life,” Johnson said.
The Courageous Colton team will hold a fundraiser this Tuesday in Georgetown at All Things Kids at 703 S. Main Street starting at 6 p.m. 600 Degrees will provide pizza.
You can check out the Courageous Colton Facebook page here to order a T-shirt and wristband or to donate to the family’s Amazon wish list.
You can also learn about becoming a bone marrow donor here.