Boy’s $12 monster drawings help fund his chemo (he's 5 years old)

[RamboLiberal]

Some little boys love trucks. Some little boys love trains. Aidan Reed, 5, has always — always — loved monsters.

To Aidan, Wolfman is a scream and vampires are a hoot. He’s never seen a single horror movie, but images from such movies — on display at Halloween costume stores and elsewhere — crack him up. His love of monsters is so steadfast that he’s been drawing monsters, playing with monster toys and dressing up like monsters for years now

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Since Sept. 13, Aidan has been waging a battle against a monster that is all too real. That’s when doctors discovered he has acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He’s spent weeks in the hospital and has endured chemotherapy, infections, spinal taps and other painful procedures.

To pass the time, he draws pictures of monsters. Dozens and dozens of them. Aidan’s drawings are so adorably scary that his aunt decided to post some of them on the website Etsy, where people buy and sell handmade artwork and other items. She wanted to do something — anything — to help Aidan and his family from a distance, so she figured she’d try to sell 60 prints to help defray their sudden and mounting expenses.

Aidan Reed's monster drawings tend to be colorful, zany, detailed and fun. In a few short weeks, she sold almost 2,500 at $12 apiece, bringing in nearly $30,000. Now Aidan’s parents are no longer worried about having to sell their house — a looming possibility just last month.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40013966/ns/today-today_people/





Repukes & Tea Partiers & Dems who wouldn't go public option or single payer ought to, but won't, hang their heads in shame that a 5 year old's family has to sell his drawings to good-hearted people to keep their house or not be able to pay for their child's medical treatment!

I'm bookmarking the website cause payday I'm buying one. On edit - I just may pick a congress critter and send it off to them with the story!

[Happyhippychick]

1. Thank you for posting. Kicked, rec'd and will purchase.

[abelenkpe]

2. Geez

Those are some good drawings. I hope someone sends this story to President Obama.
and hope this kid beats cancer, cause he's got some serious talent.
I'll buy several.

[Brickbat]

3. Now that's innovating, entrepreneuring, and boot-strapping all in one! Who are you to put

restrictions on this young businessman's trade? If he's filling a market that's not being met, what harm is there in it? And if someone else should come along and sell more colorful and interesting pictures for less money, then it wasn't that good a product to begin with, was it?

[Scurrilous]

4. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Uncle Joe]

5. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, RamboLiberal.

[Vinca]

6. Oh, jeez. This poor, little kid will become a poster child for the

"pull yourself up by your bootstraps Republicans." Now they'll want all little kids to fund their own chemo. What a shameful state this country is in that a family worries about selling their home to save their child's life.

[donco6]

7. Next, some teabagger will be pointing to this as the solution to health care.

"See! This little kid paid for it ALL BY HIMSELF. We don't need health care reform, just let the free market take care of it!"

[frylock]

8. knr

cool drawings!

[Obamanaut]

9. Earlier thread has links to 'aid for aiden' site ->

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=9351920

[RamboLiberal]

17. Thanks - I somehow missed the earlier story

This is the kind of story that should've been featured daily by the Dems and Obama when they were debating health care and here's how our bill would help. Maybe then people would have gotten it!

[Obamanaut]

18. You are welcome. I responded because of the links in the earlier thread. Thought

they might be handy to have.

[elocs]

10. Nice. I remember reading about it here on October 20:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9351920

[gratuitous]

11. Is the one on the right Michele Bachmann?

Oh come on, somebody had to say what everyone was thinking.

[dgibby]

13. It can't be, 'cause that one's my favorite.

Besides, she's scarier than anything he could dream up to draw!

[gratuitous]

15. The earrings, the crazy eyes

It's all there!

[lbrtbell]

12. I've tweeted the link to the Today Show site story

If you're on Twitter, Facebook, etc., you might want to do the same.

Sad state of affairs, when a 5-year-old has to pay for his own treatments.... :(

[Crunchy Frog]

14. The only developed country in the world that would make a 5 year old child work

to pay for his own chemotherapy.

Yes, it's sweet that he's doing those drawings and it's sweet that people want to buy them, but the underlying issues are horrifying.

[Lorien]

19. +1000. nt

[slipslidingaway]

16. knr - and just a reminder - They Have Insurance ...

"...The Reeds have medical insurance, but it comes with steep deductibles. Those expenses combined with Wylie’s lost wages led the Reeds to have a real-estate expert come out to their house. They received advice about how to paint and stage their home so they could put it up for sale..."

[slipslidingaway]

20. kick nt

[elocs]

21. Here's a kick for this thread. n/t