WATCH – Students Welcome Six-Year-Old Cancer Survivor Back to School: ‘Our Hero’

A little boy in Minnesota recently enjoyed his first day of school after spending months in the hospital battling cancer.

Nathan Herber was four-years-old when doctors diagnosed him with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2018 and had to leave his school in Rochester for treatment at the Mayo Clinic, ABC News reported Tuesday.

The illness “is cancer that originates in your lymphatic system, the disease-fighting network spread throughout your body. In non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, tumors develop from lymphocytes — a type of white blood cell,” the clinic’s website said.

Following 900 days of enduring treatment, doing online school, and being on life support at one point, Nathan is back with his friends.

As they drove through the parking lot at St. Francis of Assisi School, hundreds of students cheered, waved signs, and shouted “Nathan, Nathan!”

Rochester Catholic Schools shared photos of the event on its Facebook page, showing Nathan grinning from inside his van and children holding signs with phrases such as “Nathan is Our Hero” and “You Can Do It” written on them:

“The St. Francis of Assisi School community has stayed very connected and continues to support and pray for this family. We look forward to being reunited in the fall,” Principal Barb Plenge said.

Nathan told ABC News he was excited to reconnect with his classmates.

“I’m gonna be happy, because I might be able to see my friends from all the [classes] that I had last time,” he commented.

Facebook users called the touching scene beautiful and offered their support to him and his family.

“What a treasure of God’s Faith shown through an entire school community. Blessings to all at St. Francis and especially to Nathan,” one person wrote.

“The smile on Nathan’s face was priceless. Prayers were answered for this sweet boy,” another said.