Send Birthday Cards to Danny Nickerson Vol. Happy Birthday Buddy

FOXBORO - Danny Nickerson had a simple request for his birthday this week: He wanted birthday cards.

Nickerson, who will be turning 6 on Friday, was diagnosed last October with an inoperable brain tumor called DIPG, formally known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, and there is no cure.

A story on Danny's birthday wish ran on the front page of Thursday's Sun Chronicle - as well as the front page of The Foxboro Reporter, The Sun Chronicle's sister paper - and in just a few short days his story has gained worldwide attention and brought him hundreds of birthday cards.

Carley Nickerson, 24, Danny's mother, said they were surprised to see the story run on the front page, as they thought it would be tucked away in the paper somewhere.

"We didn't expect to be on the front page," she said. "We had no idea. We were so excited."

Since the story ran, they've had news stations from across the country calling to hear about Danny's request and so far they have received about 375 cards and 15 packages filled with trinkets like stickers and puzzles.

When the Nickersons went to the post office to check their box, the load of goods was so overwhelming that they had three big bins of mail waiting for them.

"We never thought it would be this big. It's very crazy," she said. "It all started with the paper."

Though he's already received a boatload of cards, Danny can expect more to be coming his way this week thanks to the power of social media.

A photo of The Sun Chronicle's article on Danny was posted to Reddit, a popular website with content generated and posted by users, on Saturday and by Sunday night had already garnered more than 2,000 comments from users worldwide promising to send cards to Danny from as far away as Australia and India.

Danny's request for cards also caught the eye of country singer Joe Nichols, who took to Twitter to share Danny's wish.

"This kid needs birthday cards. He's battling cancer. His name is Danny Nickerson and he's 5 years old," Nichols wrote.

In another tweet, Nichols included the P.O. Box where well-wishers could send the cards.

"All he wants are birthday cards. Breaks my heart..." he wrote.

The Twitter account Only In Boston tweeted out a photo of Danny and the P.O. Box address along with a brief description of his story.

"All Foxboro's 5yr old Danny, who has an inoperable brain tumor, wants for his bday on Friday is a bday card," the account wrote.

The tweet caught the attention of Boston and Pawtucket Red Sox player Will Middlebrooks, who retweeted it, along with more than 900 others who did the same.

The Facebook page Carley runs called "Danny's Warriors" went from having about 2,500 likes to having more than 7,000 by Sunday night, more than doubling its followers in just a few days.

Additionally, Carley has been receiving dozens of messages on Facebook from people as far away as Kuwait, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, Austria, California, Alaska, Norway and Sweden asking for the address to send a card or offering up their thoughts and prayers.

"I can't even keep up with them," Carley said.

Locally, the Attleboro High School cheerleaders made cards and a sign on Saturday during a car wash fundraiser to send to Danny.

Originally, the family was going to wait until Friday, Danny's birthday, to open the cards but because they've already received so many, Carley said they've started to go through them and they've brought a smile to Danny's face.

"It's crazy but it's good," she said.

All cards can be sent to the Nickersons addressed to Danny himself: Danny Nickerson, P.O. Box 212, Foxboro, MA 02035.
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