Senior finds friend in 2nd-grader after cancer diagnosis

BRADENTON (FOX 13) - An unlikely friendship formed between a second grader and a high school senior in Manatee County, but the instant bond between the two is now unbreakable.

After the senior, 17-year-old Richard Gallop was diagnosed with cancer, 8-year-old Jeffrey Holz immediately stepped up to help.

At Community Christian School in Manatee County, Miss Porch's second grade class is leading the charge to raise funds for Gallop. The star basketball player and golfer was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma late last year.

After hearing about his diagnosis, Miss Porch decided to take a break from helping kids solve difficult math problems, and teach them about a more difficult subject - cancer.

"Miss. Porch spent a couple of minutes talking bout it," Jeffrey told FOX 13 News.

Jeffrey was sitting in the third row, and was moved by Miss Porch's lesson. He didn't know Richard at the time, but his next thought was one of the kindest.

"I'm like, 'I should give Richard all my money,'" Jeffrey said. "When we were in church, I told my mom to get the money out of the bank."

For months, Jeffrey said he was already saving money for months - from his birthday, Christmas and doing chores - because he'd been eyeing a Lego set.

But then, Jeffrey realized helping Richard and his mother with growing medical expenses was more important.

Richard's mother, Jennifer has taken time off of work to take care of her son and take him to chemotherapy at All Children's Hospital.

"This was not anything I asked him to do, or his father. To see his heart make that decision, it was really really proud and overwhelming. As a mom, you just get the warm fuzzies," Jeffrey's mother, Meredith Holz said.

For Richard's mom, the kind act came at a time when she needed a smile the most.

"I started crying because I didn't think, in my wildest dreams, that that would have happened," said Jennifer Gallop.

With 10 grades separating them, and a nine-year age difference, the two now share a bond that will likely never break.

"It's amazing because it's not like I ever had any interactions with him before now, but he's willing to help me get through this treatment," said Richard.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Richard at https://www.gofundme.com/2rvrz7w.