LOMPOC, Calif. -- A Lompoc boy is battling cancer and warming hearts across the central coast.
He is undergoing chemotherapy for a tumor in his kidney but manages to smile through it all.
Six-year-old, Nathan Mendoza's dreams came true when he met a San Luis Obispo Sheriff Deputy and his K-9 yesterday.
Nathan has always admired law enforcement which he hopes to join one day.
Especially after San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Deputies paid little Nathan Mendoza a visit yesterday with his K-9 named Jack.
"I said 'Thank you, Policeman!" says Mendoza.
But for Nathan, it's not always fun and games.
"It was shocking and it was scary when you think of cancer," says Nathan's mother Naomi Cordero. "You always think the worst."
Last year, doctors found a tumor in Nathan's kidney.
"Wondering how long he's going to have to go through this and I was sad," says Cordero. "He's only six years old, he shouldn't have to go through this."
He's been undergoing chemotherapy at the hospital ever since and that's where he met the deputies.
"We thought it would be great to come over and meet him and help cheer him up," says San Luis Obispo Deputy Sheriff Allen Barger.
And through it all, Nathan's still smiling.
"He's always happy, no matter, everything he's gone through," says Cordero. "He's always a happy kid."
Cordero says since Central Coast News aired the story, she's seen support come in from all over the central coast and across the country even as far as Virginia. She says it's been overwhelming and really helps the family during this time.
Cordero says Nathan's chemotherapy has shrunk his tumor to the point doctors can finally perform surgery and the big day is this Monday.
