Local News

Durham boy dies after battling cancer

A 4-year-old Durham boy whom the community had rallied around in recent months has lost his battle with cancer.

Posted Updated

DURHAM, N.C. — A 4-year-old Durham boy whom the community had rallied around in recent months has lost his battle with cancer.
Preston Winslow died Saturday afternoon, according to his family's website. He was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age two and got a bone marrow transplant, but last December he was given only months to live.

"Preston took his last breath and went to Heaven," his mother, Celeste Winslow, wrote on the blog. "We are deeply saddened, and although knew this would happen soon, we were not prepared to lose him today.

"He is the sweetest, strongest and the most amazing boy ever. We were so lucky to be his parents and to have him watching over us now."

Strangers and friends came together to make three of Preston's wishes come true.

In March, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow threw passes with Preston at a training facility in Tampa that Tebow co-owns.

Volunteers at the new Hope Valley Railway in Wake County finished winter maintenance early so that in February, the boy could sit in the engineer's seat of the 1941 steam locomotive as it rolled down the tracks.

Earlier, he got to go to Disney World.

"We are in disbelief that this is all happening for our son and what people are doing for him," Winslow said after her son's train ride.

Funeral arrangements haven't been announced yet.

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.