Building Hope for Grayson on the Play Defeats Cancer Tour
The 29th build of the 2022 30-day Play Defeats Cancer Tour was for six-year-old Grayson Sansom and his older brother Drexall in White House, Tennessee. “We tried to keep it a surprise but he saw the slide in the garage and he’s pretty smart, so he figured it out quick,” Grayson’s mama bear, Casey Sansom, told us the week before his build. “We are eager to see the boys’ excitement when they first see the playset.”
Twenty-five volunteers from two local Amazon locations, a fulfillment center and the Global Roads Safety Office, arrived full of enthusiasm and ready to start building—especially after they met Grayson and Drexall. The Amazon team brought a frisbee, a kick ball and many other fun toys for the boys. Shortly after beginning the build, a few Amazon volunteers could be found sneaking off to the front yard to play with the boys who were eager to make new friends. One thing was clear from the very beginning of the build—cancer would be the furthest thing from anyone’s minds.
“At 4 years old, Grayson wasn’t feeling well the weekend of April 4th 2020,” Casey shared. “He had low energy, no appetite and stomach pains. We couldn’t get him outside to play, which wasn’t like Grayson at all.” Casey and her husband Kyle decided to take him to the emergency room the following evening. “They did an ultrasound on his stomach that showed his spleen was swollen. The nurse noticed he looked pale. She took his blood to find that his blood and platelet counts were super low. Doctors told us they thought he may have cancer.”
“It’s the last thing you would ever expect to hear about your child.”
“It’s the last thing you would ever expect to hear about your child. Especially after just taking him in for belly pains. We were expecting to hear he had a stomach bug, but instead were told our four-year-old has cancer. So hard to take in. By the time daylight came, he was put under for a procedure where they took his bone marrow from his hip area to confirm what type of Leukemia he had. On April 7th, he was officially diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia).” Grayson had a port placed and began receiving chemo treatment that same day, only three days after they noticed he wasn’t quite acting like himself.
Amazon builds hope on the Play Defeats Cancer tour
Grayson just finished his treatment in June of 2023 and is now a happy and healthy little boy. On the day of his build, it was clear to all that Grayson was not slowing down for cancer. He and Drexall spent the morning showing off their tricks in the pool while the Amazon team put their playset together just a few feet away. Grayson was excited to help and got to guide the volunteers while they placed the upper structure on top of the lower structure of the playset. “Grayson’s favorite part was interacting with the volunteers and helping put the top on the playground,” Casey told us. “My favorite part was watching all the volunteers work together and interact with the boys.”
The playset reveal!
Pretty soon, the playset was almost ready to be revealed, so the littlest helpers were shooed inside until it was time to reveal the completed playset. The Amazon team took turns signing the playset with personal notes to Grayson. When it was all finished, Casey and Kyle led the blindfolded boys out of the house for the big reveal. At the count of three, the boys pulled their blindfolds off to see their very own playset towering over them. Tearfully, Casey thanked the team, saying, “We have been so excited for this day. We are so grateful that you all took the time to come do this for us. We were amazed with all the volunteers! This will be something that we will never forget. It is so special and means a lot to our family. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Grayson loves to eat lunch on the picnic table part with his friends and put water on the slide to slide down. Drexall likes to sit on the top and look down at everyone,” Casey says. Many of the Amazon volunteers had never experienced a Roc Solid playset build before and were so inspired by Grayson’s reaction. The team gifted Grayson and Drexall with shelf-model Amazon tractor trailer toys, much to their delight, and the day finished with the Roc Solid team jumping in the pool with Grayson and Drexall. “We couldn’t be more appreciative of everything Roc Solid has done. What an amazing foundation. Amazing people. Thank you all so much! Was a pleasure meeting you all!”
We look forward to partnering with Amazon again this year for the 2023 Play Defeats Cancer Tour in September. Want to help us build playsets for even more kiddo’s fighting cancer? Donate to support the Play Defeats Cancer Tour here or email us at info@rocsolidfoundation.org to become a playset sponsor.
