The family of Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel recently revealed a heartbreaking diagnosis just months after the teen brain cancer survivor captured America’s hearts when he was sworn in as an honorary member of the Secret Service by President Trump.
DJ, who was given five months to live after being diagnosed with incurable brain and spine cancer in 2018, has “three new tumors,” his father, Theodis Daniel, told Fox 7 Austin last week.
“It’s rough, there isn’t a class that can teach you how to deal with it. You’re hearing that your child has a nasty disease,” the heartbroken dad said.
“We’re just going around showing people, hey, you do care for one another. Let’s give compassion and let’s try to join and help each other get through things,” he added.
DJ, who dreams of becoming a police officer, was thrust into the national spotlight when he was sworn in as an honorary protector of Trump during the president’s address to a joint session of Congress on March 4.
The teen has nearly completed his quest to be sworn in by 1,000 law enforcement agencies across the country — which would be a Guinness World Record.
He already holds multiple records, including “the most keys to the city” and “most proclamation days.”
After his Secret Service honor, DJ got calls from law enforcement agencies throughout the country, including from Deputy Jeffrey Combs of the Williams County Sheriff’s Office in Texas.
“I saw Theodis pick his son up. I felt that unconditional love, and I just knew I had to find DJ, so it all worked out,” he told FOX 7 last week.
The teen has been keeping in good spirits: During the Williams County ceremony, DJ rubbed deputies’ bald heads for luck, the outlet reported.
And the youngster was just as upbeat at another recent swearing-in, this one in Polk County, Florida.
“I’ll keep going until my gas tank runs out, and that’s when God calls you home,” Daniel told officers. “The craziest thing is on my 11th brain surgery, God told me I was one of his angels and I’m doing God’s work.
“On my 12th brain surgery, he gave me my wings, but he told me I’m going to take these back until you graduate the school called life.”
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