Magician and dad Criss Angel and his family are going through a tough time as his five-year-old son Johnny Crisstopher is battling cancer. Johnny’s cancer relapsed recently and as a result, his head had to be shaved.
Instead of letting it be a sad reminder of the uphill climb he still has, the family turned it into an opportunity to let their son rock a new look and celebrate the new year. Cancer is always difficult, but for parents of children diagnosed with it, creativity and patience are most needed. Criss Angel and his wife, Shaunyl Benson have shown up with both and a heaping amount of strength.
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Criss and Shaunyl posted a video of Johnny getting his head shaved.
The post to Instagram features two slides. The first is a video where Criss addresses the camera saying, “I’m gonna cut Johnny Crisstopher’s hair because of his relapse that he’s been going through.”
“Do you want to keep your hair long and we’ll just let it fall out? And [before] it falls out, we’ll just keep it in a ponytail? Or do you want to cut it off? It’s up to you,” the magician then asks his son.
Then, Criss goes on to shave Johnny’s head. It’s a sobering clip. It can act as a guide for parents who might be experiencing the same situation.
The second slide in the Instagram post features a montage of photos of Johnny.
The video montage shows Johnn smiling and wearing a red cape that says, “Childhood Cancer Survivor” on it.
Criss captioned his post, “We must embrace what we can’t control with courage, strength and forever love. #CelebrateLife #2020.”
Johnny’s mother, Shaunyl shared a similar post, with a caption saying their son’s “hair has been falling out in chunks” within “the last few days” and that despite their struggles, “This time around, we know what to expect.”
“Even though it’s harder than the first time, we know that it’s all part of the battle???? and even without it, his face is still the most handsome face I’ve ever laid eyes on,” she added. “One day at a time my love ♥️ and before you know it, cancer will only be a small part of your story. The rest is yet to come ????????”
“So beautiful said my love❤️,” Criss wrote in a comment.
Johnny was first diagnosed with leukemia in 2015 and has been fighting it ever since.
Although Johnny did go into remission, his cancer came back last month.
“My son will be 8 years old when he’s done and six years of his life, he has been doing chemo treatments. I am going through this now,” Criss recently said during an awards ceremony.
Criss has been very open to the public about his family’s struggle with cancer.
“My son is supposed to outlive me. I’d rather it be me that was sick,” Criss told People when he first shared the news about his son’s diagnosis. “I want Johnny’s future to be long and happy. That kid is just a bundle of love. He’s the truest form of magic.”
We sure hope this latest round of chemo helps Johnny out. We’re hoping that 2020 brings nothing but good news to the Angel family.