A North Texas boy is using his cancer fight to inspire other children to celebrate their differences.
Luis Collazo is only in the fifth grade, but he's already accomplished so much. At 10 years old, he is a published author and cancer survivor.
"I got sick over retinoblastoma, but that's something that's just really special about me," he said.
Diagnosed with cancer of the eye as a baby, Luis has lived most of his life with a prosthetic eye.
"When I first came into first grade, there were some kids who bullied me," he said. "They called me 'alien' because I had one eye."
The bullying made Luis shy and he never told his mother or his teachers about it. Instead, he turned to writing.
"It popped into my head 'Maybe if I write a book I'll feel better about my feelings,'" said Luis. "So then I wrote it, it got published and now it's viral."
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Using his cancer battle and challenges as inspiration, Luis crafted characters to tell a universal story about embracing what makes us unique in "Todd the Odd Boy."
"Even if you're unusual, everybody is special, no matter how you are," he said. "My [eye] is something that I love, something about me, something really special."
Today, Luis remains cancer free. He attends critical checkups at Children's Medical Center Dallas to track his long-term recovery.
Luis already has plans for another book and said when he grows up, he'd like to become a scientist so he can help cure diseases like cancer.
