ANDALUSIA, Iowa-- From the smiles and laughter on the slopes today, you never would've guessed some of these kids have fought, or are fighting, for their lives.
"It's a bond none of us wanted, but since we have it, it's great to have people know what you've been through or what you're going through," Sarah Perez said. Her son, Rafa, was diagnosed with cancer last year, but there wasn't any mention of that today, while little Rafa hit the slopes and tubing hill at Ski Snow Star. It was part of a family day event for kids from Tudi's Tribe, an organization that helps families overcome a cancer diagnosis.
And the Perez family agreed that today helped do just that.
Rafa described to News 8, "I'm going down the hill and it's going to be really fun and my dad's going to go tubing with me and it's going to be very very fun."
Sarah Perez continued, "We get to do a lot of these family events and it just takes your mind off what a cancer diagnosis can do to a family."
Tudi's Tribe was founded in 2007. And some good news for the Perez family: Rafa has been in remission for 6 months.