Heartwarming moment Illinois second grader is welcomed home from hospital to cheering crowds after beating blood cancer

An Illinois second grader was welcomed home Saturday by his entire community - police escort included - with a raucous standing ovation after he beat blood cancer.

Video of the heartwarming moment when Judah Collins, now cancer-free, returned home to a bustling cul de sac was shared by the Chatham Police Department on Facebook.

The family of five - mom, dad, two daughters and Judah - are seen rolling up in their SUV to the excited crowd, who was clapping, cheering, holding signs and blowing into noisemakers to celebrate Judah's healthy return.

The video also shows a row of at least five police cars flashing their lights with officers standing outside to greet Judah.

Once out of the family car, Judah walked over to say hug to his friends, a second video posted by Chatham police showed.

Judah, with his family close behind, waves to his supportive neighborhood

Judah (pictured center with a mask) hugs his neighborhood pals

The family of five, with Judah in the center, celebrate him making a full recovery from blood cancer

Judah was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia on January 20, 2023, according to Chatham police. 

He began receiving chemotherapy treatments and got his last dose in August 2023, only to relapse in November 2023.

His family was 'devastated,' the police wrote in their post.

Several months after the cancer came back, Judah's mother gave her son a bone marrow transplant, which was successful. 

'With all of the bad going on in the world right now, it can be easy to lose sight of the tremendous amount of good going on in it right now, too,' Chatham police wrote.

'What an incredible story of resilience, never giving up, and the true power of a mother’s love,' the post continued. 

Judah, wearing a blue shirt, approaches the crowd to greet them after coming home cancer free

A friendly neighborhood crowd and a police escort gathered Saturday to give Judah (in the gray minivan) a proper welcome home

Judah's family stands next to their car as he makes the rounds

Pictured center: Judah's father, mother and older sister 

Judah was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia on January 20, 2023

The Collins family takes a selfie together on August 3, 2023 with Judah in the center. At this time, Judah was still on chemotherapy

Another picture of the Collins family posted March 3, 2024. Matthew Collins, Judah's father, thanked the community for their support

Judah's father, Matthew Collins, was overjoyed at the community's show of support and commented on the police department's post.

'The support from this community over the past 15 months has been incredible. Thanks for loving our boy so well,' he wrote.

There were 80 comments below the video Chatham police posted, most of which were congratulating Judah and his family on him finally overcoming his serious disease. 

The video itself, posted two days ago, has gotten over 800 reactions and more than 22,000 views.

'Coming home from the hospital can be a major adjustment!' one person wrote. 'This welcome home will give him and the family a beautiful memory to talk about and share.'

The comments were also full of praise for the Chatham police, who helped organize this ceremony for Judah and took time to show up for him.

'When Judah made it home today, he had an army of people there to welcome him and his family home. We were there also, to show our support to this amazing little boy,' Chatham police wrote.