A popular Connecticut radio station renamed itself after a 9-year-old boy battling brain cancer for a day and raised quite a bit of money for the boy and his family.
Radio 104.1 WMRQ changed its name to Anthony FM for one day on Tuesday in honor of Anthony Longley, 9, of North Haven, and many people stopped by to say hi and make donations that will make a difference for the family and send them to Disney.
"From the bottom of my heart, and from everyone here at Radio 104.1, THANK YOU. YOU helped us raise $10,000 for Anthony and the Longley family. ANTHONY FM could not have happened without YOU!," a post the radio station shared with NBC Connecticut says.
Anthony has been fighting anaplastic ependymoma, a type of brain cancer, for the past six years, according to a GoFundMe page raising money for his family. He has had five major brain surgeries since 2009 on top of other medical procedures.
DJ David Fisch, host of Fish in the Morning, came up with the idea to rename the locally owned radio station after he received a call from Anthony's mom.
"I'm a dad myself and I couldn't imagine going through this with one of my children or one of my sons," Fish said. "When his mom reached out to me for help, I could only say yes."
Anthony's parents have stayed by their son's side during his treatment, first at Yale-New Haven Hospital and now at Boston Children's Hospital, which has required them to take a lot of time away from work,
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A GoFundMe page set up to help them says they have "exhausted all funds" and asks people to help them help Anthony fight his brain cancer and to "find a cure for this demon."
