Fourteen-year-old Tristan "TJ" Fernandez galvanized the community and fans of anime, or Japanese animation, and inspired many in Pearl City on Saturday, despite having lost the ability to walk or talk in his battle with incurable brain cancer.
"I feel great, just to show support and to help bring Kawaii Kon to him," said convention official Angel Rumbaoa, attired as Monkey D. Luffy from the anime "One Piece." "It felt really great to see his smile."
Dozens from Kawaii Kon, the state’s largest anime convention, appeared at a fundraiser for Fernandez’s medical expenses at Pearl City High School. The 11th annual Kawaii Kon is scheduled for March 27-29 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.
The event raised money through the sale of plate lunches and baked goods and a silent auction.
Hundreds attended the fundraiser, which was Fernandez’s first excursion outside his home since a two-month hospital stay that ended in January. The hospitalization was prompted by a massive seizure that hindered his mobility.
Inside the school’s cafeteria, Fernandez smiled, waved and flashed the shaka from his wheelchair for photos with well-wishers.
Fictional characters in attendance included the Ghostbusters, a storm trooper from "Star Wars," Catwoman, the Joker, the Japanese cat Doraemon, a Spartan from the "Halo" video game franchise and Deadpool of Marvel Comics.
Fernandez’s father, Jaret Fernandez, said he was surprised by the large turnout and the support from friends, family and strangers.
"He really enjoyed it," he said, adding that his son’s joy renewed the family’s spirit.
"When you see the smile on his face, when you see his enjoyment, that gives us strength," he said. "As long as he’s happy, it takes a toll off of me and the mom."
Fernandez, a Honolulu Police Department corporal, said after his son was diagnosed with brain cancer in October, one of his wishes was to go to Japan to experience the newest anime. But he couldn’t travel after the seizure last year, and Hospice Hawaii, which provides end-of-life services, reached out to Kawaii Kon to bring anime characters to him.
Roy Bann, senior administrator of Kawaii Kon, said members wanted to bring "one small slice of anime goodness or geeky goodness" to Fernandez and "just in a small way we make him smile inside."
Fernandez said his son still wants to return to Pearl City High School, where he was a freshman last fall. The family is trying to allow him to return part time.
"He wants to see his classmates, his teachers," Fernandez said. "We’re going to see what we can do."
He said doctors cannot operate on the tumor because of its location on his son’s brain stem. Instead, his son underwent radiation and chemotherapy, but the treatments didn’t stop the aggressive cancer.
"We’re going day by day and letting him enjoy his time out here," he said. "He’s a tough kid. Everything you ask him to do, he’s done it."
He said his son, the youngest of three boys, accepted a tracheostomy so he could get out of the hospital sooner. The hole in his windpipe helps him breathe.
Nicole Quides-Nihipali, a cousin of Fernandez’s mother, Jocelyn, a pharmacy technician, said Fernandez is a "rascal" and "typical boy" who loved playing video games before he became ill.
In October, she said he began slurring his speech and favoring one leg when he walked. After an examination, he was diagnosed with cancer and given one to three months to live.
She said that in January, Fernandez was able to tell a social worker that he wanted to go home.
"Don’t bring me back," he said.
His parents became certified caregivers to take care of him at home, she said.
"He’s become an inspiration for me and my family," Quides-Nihipali said. "Just the amount of will he has — the way he could change people’s perception of life. That boy is amazing."
Visit bit.ly/1aF5iL9 to donate.
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