Soon after Nikole Osani gave birth to her son Canyon, it became clear that there was something not right about him. As a baby, Canyon had severe vomiting, and his eyes frequently made uncontrolled movements. On top of that, his head was abnormally large, but whenever Nikole voiced concerns about any of this to doctors, she was told she worried too much.

Nikole later learned that she had been right the entire time when Canyon was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, and doctors informed her that the cancer had already spread down his spinal cord. Since then, the little boy has had to undergo six surgeries.

Nikole, 23, decided to give up her apartment and move back into her parents’ house so that she could focus on caring for Canyon full time. She did not own a vehicle, which meant she had to ask for rides from others to get her son to his frequent doctor’s appointments at Johns Hopkins Hospital, a nearly two-hour drive from her parents’ house.

Eventually, Nikole’s community learned of the desperate single mother who had to seek the aid of family and friends for rides to get to and from the hospital. This is how her story came to the attention of Paul Matthews, whose son Eli had died of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. After the death of his son, Paul founded the Eli Seth Matthew’s Leukemia Foundation, which supports families with children battling cancer.

Once he heard Nikole’s story, Paul knew he had to help her. He started reaching out to donors and volunteers. In the video below, you’ll see Paul give Nikole a life-saving surprise! Find out what it is below.