CHICAGO — George Tsourdinis has been touched by Chris Ellis' story.
Chris, 6, was diagnosed with Stage Four neuroblastoma in July 2014. Since then, Chris has spent more time at Comer Children's Hospital in Hyde Park than his family's home in the suburbs.
Tsourdinis is organizing a fundraiser for Chris and his family as part of the 12th Annual Midwest Pan-Hellenic Youth Ball, a combined effort of the Hellenic Student Associations of Loyola, DePaul, UIC, University of Chicago and Northwestern University.
Tsourdinis, president of the U. of C. chapter and a junior at the university, helped choose Chris and his family — who are Greek — for the fundraiser.
"Through our annual Youth Ball fundraiser, we strive to show that, when the youth of the Hellenic diaspora unite, we can help any community members to surmount obstacles of healthcare cost and anything else life may throw our way," said Tsourdinis, 21, an aspiring pediatrician.
Chris in December met his idol, YouTube star and gamer Zack Scott.
Scott, who has nearly 2 million YouTube subscribers, said hanging out and playing video games with Chris was "truly an honor."
"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the full scope of it all," Scott said in December. "It's hard to process that I could be a small but important part in someone else's life. It means so much that someone going through such difficulty in life looks up to me and would want to spend their time with me."
Chris' dream was to have a "play date" with Scott. His mother, Dani, posted a Facebook message in November asking Scott to visit her son. The post received thousands of shares, and Scott quickly contacted Chris' family to set up a meeting.
Since he was diagnosed, and cancer was discovered throughout his body, Chris has had his gallbladder and an adrenal gland removed, has lost his high-pitch hearing, and he likely will never be able to have children of his own.
Most of the cancer had been treated, but recently it was discovered again in his left femur, right pelvis and left eye. Dani Ellis said her son's condition is currently "stable," and they'll learn more when he returns to Comer on Feb. 17.
"That will be our fork in the road," she said. "We either continue moving forward with treatment or stop. We are praying this is working."
Dani Ellis said the "outpouring of support for our family has been incredible and has helped us maintain as normal a life as possible."
"Our gratitude is immeasurable and there is not way we can ever come close to thanking all those who have reached out and extended a hand," she said.
For more information on the Pan-Hellenic Ball, click here.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
