In the corridors of the Hippocratic Hospital of Thessaloniki, he parades dressed as Tsolias, little Gabriel battling cancer.

On October 28, the boy parades down the hallway wearing his mask with patients, doctors, and nurses cheering him on.

“We were going to come out normally, we were going to have our parade here on Friday at the pediatric oncology. We had gotten him the Tsolia costume, and I really wanted him to do it, the kindergarten teacher told me too, they told me to dress him up, and so we did, and he really enjoyed it. He lived it. Together with him, we also lived it; we were very excited,” Gabriel’s mother, Parthena Tsiklidou, told ALPHA.

Shortly before turning 5, Gabriel has been battling cancer for the past two years. The child is undergoing a new regimen of chemotherapy. “I was incredibly moved. I am very proud. He was so happy and he was saying ‘one two, one two’. Behind him was the hospital teacher, our kindergarten teacher, and Gabriel was moving forward,” the mother said.

Gabriel’s mother appealed for platelet donations:

“He’s been having frequent transfusions because his vital signs keep dropping during his chemotherapy treatments. Lately, he’s needed transfusions more often, but we haven’t been able to find any B-negative blood — that’s the type the doctors require. It’s such a rare blood type, so I reached out to the world for help. Thank God, today we had a bit of good news. His platelets have stabilized, his numbers look a little better, and we’re moving forward.”