Quaden Bayles, the 9-year-old boy who in a heartbreaking video said he wanted to commit suicide after being bullied at school for his dwarfism, had the "best day of his life" when he led a team of Australian rugby stars.
It happened this Saturday, when the child entered with the ball in hand, leading the column of players of the Indigenous All-Stars at the Robina stadium in the Australian state of Queensland.
The images of the child asking his mother "give me a knife, I want to kill myself" went around the world in recent days and generated huge expressions of solidarity.
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"We stand by you and support you, friend," was the message from the captain of the rugby team in the online invitation sent for Bayles to attend the game.
The Indigenous All-Stars faced the Maori All-Stars before a crowd that did not tire of chanting phrases of support for the 9-year-old boy.
His mother, Yarraka Bayles, who posted the heartbreaking video of her son wishing to end his life, described what happened as "going from the worst day of his life to the best day of his life".
Expressions of support
The footage of the boy asking for a knife was seen by more than 14 million people and quickly became a trend on social media with the hashtag #WeStandWithQuaden.
The boy received multiple expressions of support in recent days (Getty Images)
Personalities like Australian actor Hugh Jackman (Wolverine in the "X-Men" film saga) and basketball player Enes Kanter sent heartfelt messages to the boy.
A GoFundMe page, created by comedian Brad Williams, who was also born with a type of dwarfism, raised nearly $450,000 for the boy who wants to visit Disneyland.
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"This is not just for Quaden, this is for anyone who has been mistreated in their life and has ever been told that they are not good enough," Williams wrote on the fundraising page.
Children from different parts of the world also posted messages offering their friendship to Quaden. (I)
