No one has ever told 7-year-old Dominic Osorio that he has brain cancer. Instead, his mother devised a story and made him the lead character. When Dominic undergoes surgery, chemotherapy or radiation, he is not a patient; he is the Dominator, waging war with an evil enemy that he calls a megazoid.
His grandmother, Monique Spagna, recalled the day Dominic finished weeks of daily radiation treatments at Johns Hopkins Children's Center that required the Bel Air boy to wear a mask and remain motionless for what seemed an eternity to a child.
"He could not move, so he would change identities and be the Dominator battling an enemy he called a megazoid," she said. "His mother came up with this story to help him deal with it."
On the last day of treatment, Dominic followed hospital tradition and rang a bell to signal he was done, she said. "So many others were inspired," she said. "They said if this kid could do it, so could they."
Many have come to know the story of the indomitable child and joined his crusade. Dominic, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2007, has inspired not only the new superhero character, but a comic book with a strong possibility for sequels, an official proclamation from Harford County government and a fundraising effort for children's hospice.
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