For weeks, six-year-old Nixon had complained that his leg hurt.

His parents, Nick and his wife, assumed it was simply growing pains. Nixon was an energetic little boy who loved sports, spending his days playing soccer, football and baseball with his older brothers, Drew, 11, and Hudson, eight.

Then, almost exactly four weeks ago, everything changed.

The family was preparing to travel to St. George for Drew’s first baseball tournament when they decided to take Nixon for a quick check-up.

Their doctor, Dallen, recommended an X-ray.

The family expected nothing more than reassurance that Nixon was simply growing.

Instead, the doctor quietly asked to speak with his mother.

On the X-ray was a large tumor growing in Nixon’s femur.

“I could sense right away that something wasn’t right,” his mother recalled. “How could my little boy be running and playing every day with something like that growing inside his leg?”

Nixon was quickly taken to Primary Children’s Hospital, where doctors carried out blood tests, scans and an MRI before preparing him for surgery.

A biopsy would determine whether the tumor was cancerous.

Three hours later, the family received the devastating news: the tumor was malignant.

Doctors discovered that Nixon had multiple tumors in his femur, and the illness had also spread to his lungs.

For his parents, the news was almost impossible to process.

Their family had already experienced heartbreaking loss at the same hospital. More than nine years earlier, their son Cole had passed away after living for just six days.

Now, they found themselves back in the same hospital, once again praying for their child.

He dreams of playing football for BYU or Navy, becoming a Navy SEAL, and one day working as a Teppanyaki chef. Just months earlier, his mother had caught him running up the stairs and doing push-ups while wearing headphones.

When she asked what he was doing, his answer was simple: he was training to become a SEAL.

His family says that determination has never left him.

Nixon began chemotherapy, and although the first treatment went relatively well, his journey soon became more difficult. He later developed a fever and was admitted to hospital, where doctors discovered he had a coronavirus infection.

During one session, nausea suddenly overwhelmed him. His mother held him as he became sick, watching the little boy she knew as energetic and fearless struggle through another difficult moment.

“My heart broke for him,” she said. “He is such an innocent kid. Sometimes I just look into his eyes and wish I could take all of this away from him.”

Yet amid the uncertainty, Nixon has been surrounded by an extraordinary wave of support.

Neighbors have organized bake sales and fundraisers. Supporters have created custom shirts bearing #NixonStrong, made military-inspired dog tags in his honor, and sent hundreds of cards and packages.

Even the Utah Jazz Bear stopped by to see him.

His family also organized a head-shaving party after Nixon’s hair began falling out, turning a difficult moment into a celebration of the growing “Nixon’s Army” standing behind him.

“He has so many people cheering for him,” his mother said. “It has given our family something positive to hold on to during the hardest days.”

For now, Nixon’s family is taking everything one day at a time.

They know there are still months of treatment ahead before doctors can fully assess how his body is responding.

But they are holding tightly to the advice they were given: cherish the good days, laugh when you can, and on the difficult days, simply hold one another close.