5-year-old cancer patient donates toys to fellow pediatric oncology patients

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Justus Trayer is a 5-year-old of few words.

But on Tuesday, there were two words he said quite often.

“Happy and brave,” Justus said.

To Justus, it means in simple words, “to be strong.”

Bravery has been a large component of the 5-year-olds life after he was diagnosed with leukemia last February. His preschool lifestyle was quickly overwhelmed by doctors’ appointments.

“It was just constant appointments, this day, and then in a couple of days,” his mother, Heidi Trayer, said.

Now, a year out from his diagnosis, young Justus is in remission. His family wanted to figure out a way to commemorate the anniversary of his diagnosis.

“We wanted to celebrate him for being strong and brave for one year,” Trayer said.

Trayer gave Justus a few options. The first one included buying toys for children who were facing cancer — kids going through treatment similar to what he had. It was an easy decision for Justus, who had just one thing he wanted to do: make kids happy and brave.

“In his own words, he said, to make other kids be brave, or to help other kids be brave,” Trayer said.

On Tuesday, the Trayer’s van was filled with toys ranging from lizard puppets and Nerf guns to Barbie dolls and monster trucks. Justus and his brother shopped for them all using donations.

In total, the boys bought $600 worth of toys, and Trayer says the boys still have $100 left over to buy more. So far, the family has delivered a bag full of toys to Alaska Pediatric Oncology and is planning to deliver their van full of toys later this week to Providence Hospital.

“It feels really good knowing that my son wants to help other kids going through a similar situation,” Trayer said.

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