BOSTON — The small but mighty Weymouth 3-year-old who beat brain cancer got to drop the puck at the Bruin's game to wild applause.
Quinn Waters, known as the Mighty Quinn, was able to leave his house for the first time since finishing his treatment for brain cancer.
Diagnosed with a tumor on his brain stem commonly known as medulloblastoma on Feb 11, a day after his 3rd birthday, Quinn had been house-bound until late Sept.
While doctors were able to remove 95% of the tumor, the chemotherapy, months of hospitalization and a stem cell transplant left Quinn's immune system too compromised to go outside.
But that didn't stop the world from coming to him.
In the months that followed, police, firefighters, EMTs and even the Dropkick Murphys showed up at the Waters' house.
"This is our first real public outing in, I want to say nine months," said Jarlath Waters, Quinn's father.
Thankfully, Quinn's latest MRI showed no signs of a new disease, which meant he could finally go outside.
"We have been holding our breath for so long waiting for some good news and then we finally got it," said Jarlath.
Before heading to the TD Garden for the puck drop, Quinn got a chance to toss around a basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters.
"He’s been a warrior, he’s at least shown us he gets up and he’s like, he never stops," said Tara Waters, Quinn's mother.
There's nothing simple about dropping the puck at a Bruins game, but Quinn's father says this big moment reminds him of the small, difficult ones that brought them to where they are today.
"The Bruins got us through some rough nights just me and him, it means a lot," said Jarlath.
The Waters family was incredibly greatful to be at the game on Tuesday night as part of "Hockey Fights Cancer."
Both Jarlath and Tara emphasize that Quinn is where he is now because of blood and platelet donations and encourage everyone to donate if they can.