Few people find needles enjoyable, and a significant portion of the adult population expresses overt fear of them. So it’s no wonder that young children scream when it’s time to get a shot or have their blood drawn. Who would blame them? It stinks.

Morgan Handley’s kid, Reece, experiences discomfort every week rather than once a year. The 5-year-old was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago at the age of two and must have his blood collected daily. Despite his obvious distress, the way he prepares himself for it has people cheering him on and motivated to take the same approach to difficult tasks they don’t want to undertake.

His response was, “Heck yeah! Do it.” “Just do it” would be enough on its own, but the enthusiastic “Yeah, dude! That’s what I’m talking about!” is a flex. The young warrior clearly understands what works for him, and his courage through tears is precisely what we all hope we could generate when we’re going through a difficult situation.

Handley tells Upworthy that it is something he has internalized from his family. “We pep him up, always, but it’s carried over the years,” she tells me. “And now he just naturally does it, even to us when we have things that have to get done!”

People adored how he handled it:

“Him crying while cheering himself on broke my heart and made me laugh at the same time.”

“He figured out it’s mind over matter!”

“He handled it better than some adult males I know! Hahah”

“I don’t even have kids, and I want to get him whatever toys he wants after this.”

“Look at that courageous little boy! He motivated himself to go through the worry and discomfort!!”

Handley said that Reece plans to ring the bell—declaring himself cancer-free—in July of 2025. It has been a lengthy journey to get there. He was diagnosed with leukemia in September 2022 after visiting the emergency room with fever blisters that had transformed into a rash around his lips and seemed to be an allergic reaction. When the ER doctor saw Reece’s pale complexion, he drew his blood and discovered a white cell count of 80,000, which indicated leukemia. After being transported to the children’s hospital, specialists rechecked and verified his blood cell count.

That’s where the family’s cancer adventure began: meeting with specialists, devising a strategy, and beginning treatment, which has included chemotherapy, weekly labs, various surgeries, spinal taps, immunotherapy, steroids, and more. He was able to begin immunotherapy treatment as part of a St. Jude’s study, which has been demonstrated to minimize recurrence rates. Immunotherapy treatment is now standard routine, according to Handley.

“Treatment has been relatively smooth,” she tells Upworthy. “He has sensitive skin and gets rashes from every medication. Steroids are particularly harmful to children. He stopped walking at first, but he has not experienced any negative reactions in general. Immunotherapy was a smooth aspect of the treatment.”

People in the comments have been supportive, and some have even recounted their own experiences with childhood leukemia, bringing hope to Handley and her family.

“My brother was similarly diagnosed with leukemia at the age of two and went into remission when he was five. I was born shortly after he was diagnosed. So many similarities. He has been cancer-free for 35 years and is praying for you all.

“My sister was also diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the age of two and survived until she was six years old. It limited her growth tremendously, but she’s 25 and doing great!!”