Man battling cancer gets unwavering support from children in a school bus everyday

Individuals who are diagnosed with cancer can overcome the disease with strong willpower and the support of loved ones. But it could also extend to simple gestures of support provided by friends every day. Tony Way, based in Ohio, has been battling cancer for a long five years. But his struggle has been made easier thanks to the unwavering support of his friend, Tony McHale. McHale used to work as a bus driver and would honk his horn whenever he went by Way's house as a show of support, reports USA Today.

This wholesome show of support has been going on since August 25th, 2021. McHale would honk the bus around 7.10 AM until he had to step away from being a driver after he had a pacemaker put in. Ohio State law does not allow anyone to drive a school bus if they have undergone a procedure. Because of this, their wonderful tradition experienced a break until McHale's replacement, Randy Hurst, took the job and decided to continue it.

Soon enough, the fourth and fifth graders who were on the bus began to notice how the bus driver would religiously honk the horn at the same house on Broadway Street. The students approached McHale, who now worked as a bus aide, to know what was going on and got to know about Way's battle with cancer. He also told the students about how his condition did not allow him to leave the house, which is why he started offering support in whatever way he could.

The students wanted to do something to support Way, so McHale suggested that they could shout and wave whenever the bus passed his house. The following day, the kids did just that and Way could not have been more happy. However, his cancer had recently reached a critical point, with his doctor having to remove his bladder and prostate as part of the treatment. It was a painful but necessary step as many of the treatments did not work for him, and he even ended up getting four separate infections after one of his surgeries.

Even though the students simply waved and yelled words of encouragement for him from the bus, it proved to be quite inspiring for him. He said, "Their sincere love moved my heart. Pulling away, they continued to wave and yell to me to get better." The children also loved supporting him and asked if they could do it again. McHale decided to make it even more special for Way and bought some colored papers and markers for all the children on his bus. In the video posted by the school on YouTube, we can see the kids holding up "Get Well" cards in different colors.

Way can be heard thanking them, clearly overwhelmed by their support. McHale and Way have known each other for more than 20 years when they met at West Chester Nazarene church in West Chester, where they became good friends. But they got separated when Way had to move to Cincinnati for personal reasons. They got in touch again four years back after McHale moved closer to Cincinnati.