With a big smile on his face while wearing a tee shirt that said “cancer warrior,” 7-year-old Hudson Simmons spent a few hours enjoying snow cones and hanging out with family, friends and supporters. Friday, May 8 was Hudson Simmons Day at Polar Chill Snow in Glenwood, a fundraiser for the boy’s family which was also intended to raise awareness about the condition he’s struggling with.

Two featured flavors at the event were Huddy’s Grape, named in his honor, and a red, white and blue Superman Cone, which is fitting as the family has created a “Super Huddy” logo for shirts, stickers and bracelets.

His mom Bethany Ramer says she first noticed something was wrong when one of his eyes started turning in. She took him for an eye exam, with the doctor prescribing glasses and suggesting it might be a weak muscle. After a couple of months, she said she was planning to schedule a followup appointment because his eye wasn’t showing any improvement. Then her son came to her one day last November.

“He was limping on his right side, and he came and he said, ‘Mama, I can’t grip things with my right hand.’ So we jumped in the rig and we rushed to Little Rock to [Arkansas Children’s Hospital] because I want the best for him, you know, ’cause I just had this feeling, like, there’s something going on,” Ramer said.

A scan was conducted, she said, with doctors discovering a tumor and diagnosing him with brain cancer. Then came radiation treatments five days a week for six weeks, Ramer said.

“Its been tough for all of us,” said Patrick Ramer, the boy’s step-father, “but Hudson, he’s the only one who doesn’t know he’s sick. He’s an inspiration to everybody.”

“In the heat of the radiation, all that, he’s feeling bad, he’ll still manage to shoot you a smile,” he added. “He’s always trying to make everybody around him feel good.”

After that round of radiation was completed, Bethany Ramer says the family was preparing to take her son to participate in a clinical trial being conducted by St. Louis Children’s Hospital when they got the results of a post-radiation scan at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

“We got the news that it had spread, that cut us off from the clinical trial. They said, well, we may have another possible one, so we went anyway, but it didn’t work out,” she said. “So, you know, we’re discouraged because… it’s not curable, which is tough.”

At this point, Ramer said she doesn’t know what’s next for her family.

“I went from not even knowing this diagnosis existed to now it’s my life, researching that. When the medical professionals tell you there’s not much… you just can’t accept that as a mom. You just can’t. I’ll do whatever I can.”

Cleveland Clinic says pediatric brain tumors are the most common type of cancer in children, afflicting over 5,000 kids each year. Three-to-five children out of every 100,000 children are diagnosed with a brain tumor annually. Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children, the medical center reports.

The snow cone fundraiser was organized by Karen Baker, a longtime friend of Hudson’s grandparents, who said she watched Bethany Ramer grow up.

“Obviously, this is heartbreaking for a family to go through, I know,” Baker said. “God sure answers prayers. Hudson’s last scans were amazing and we’re just all believing with them that he’s going to be healed.”

Bracelets that feature a cross and say “Pray for Huddy,” along with “Super Huddy” tee shirts and stickers can be picked up for a donation at The Pizza Trailer in Glenwood.