DJ Daniel has had multiple surgeries for brain cancer, and the boy met the president at the oval office for his appointment
DJ Daniel, a 13-year-old boy who was diagnosed with a deadly brain cancer at the age of 6, became the newest and youngest member of the US Secret service. "Tonight, DJ Daniel, we are going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service,” US President Donald Trump declared.
Daniel has been through multiple brain surgeries. When he was first diagnosed, it was presumed his life span will be much shorter given the viciousness of the disease, but Daniel surpassed the life expectancy that was given to him during the early days of diagnosis. Since then, he is being looked up to for his grit and endurance while navigating his cancer.
At the oval office, Daniel came with his father, and he was dressed in a Houston police uniform, which is a nod to how he dreams of being a police officer once he becomes eligible to take the exams.
Drastic Cuts to Medical Research
But, as heartwarming as the hug Daniel gave to Trump in the oval office, and his appointment as an agent is, it also comes around the same time troubling news that Trump and his health advisor Robert F. Kennedy Jr tried to make drastic cuts to medical research. This could mean halting crucial research in the field, as well as the loss of thousands of jobs.
Trump administration has reasoned this move by saying that these are "overhead" expenses and need to be curbed. But, separate lawsuits by 22 states plus hospitals and universities against the move decried that these were not unnecessary expenses, but rather direct and indirect expenditure that aids laboratory research and the incomes of the people who pursue it.
The move, however was blocked by a federal judge on March 6. Dr. David J. Skorton of the Association of American Medical Colleges, one of the plaintiffs, expressed relief at the ruling. “These unlawful cuts would slow medical progress and cost lives,” he wrote in a statement.