NEW IBERIA, La. (KLFY) — In New Iberia a birthday parade was held to celebrate Fisher Whitaker, a nine-year-old boy battling leukemia.

The parade, organized by the community, brought joy to Fisher as he continues his fight against a rare form of acute Lymphoblastic leukemia. Fisher’s journey has been challenging, but he remains strong and brave, according to his family.

“With just all the love and support to see people coming together for somebody that they don’t know,” said Megan Meyers, Fisher’s mother. “It’s just it’s very heartwarming.”

Fisher, like any other nine-year-old, loves playing with friends and family. Despite his illness, he continues to fight and undergo treatment.

“Fisher has been really, really strong, really brave throughout all of this,” said Chris Whitaker, Fisher’s father. “He’s handling it better than any kid that I know.”

Fisher’s treatment is experimental with only 2% of pediatric patients being diagnosed with iAMP21-ALL. While undergoing treatment for the next two and a half years, Fisher’s family hopes for the best and appreciates the community’s support and prayers.

Getting the chance to ride on a fire truck with parish and city officials, the garnered support from neighbors, law enforcement, first responders and supporters of Fisher aimed to make his birthday memorable.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KLFY. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KLFY staff before being published.

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