BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — For many, pirate frogs would not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of songs at a choir concert.
But in Bowling Green on Tuesday night, that was exactly the case. And for the family of 5-year-old Colton Stanley, it meant everything.
"We're unbelievably grateful. It's been a challenging year for our family," said Colton's mother, Corri Stanley.
Colton was diagnosed last year with T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma, a rare form of lymphoma.
"To say it was a shock to our family would be an understatement," Corri said. "I don't think any parent can really be prepared for the words 'your child has cancer.'"
But during Colton's treatment in the last year, the Sing Me A Story foundation offered the Stanleys a little relief.
"To be honest, at first I was like, I don't know much about them," Corri said of the nonprofit, which helps families in need through music and allows a kid to fulfill their imagination by seeing a story of theirs turned into a song.
So Colton, along with his little brother Connor, wrote "Colton and Connor's Magical Pirate Frog Adventure." It's an adventure filled with mythical battles and silly mishaps, along with a few interesting names, like Mr. Eyeball
His middle name's Poopy!," Colton said.
The story needed someone to bring it to life, though, and Bowling Green State University student Colton Ogg stepped in to help.
"It seemed really interesting to me, so I reached out to Sing Me A Story, and was like 'hey, I'm interested in this, I think it will be fun,'" Ogg said. "I had no idea about anything of what the story was or the boys or anything like that."
So, Ogg crafted the piece throughout June and July of this year. After completing it, he sent it to Beth Vaughn, Bowling Green High School's choir director.
"I was looking around the room as they (the choir) were reading it and there was just giggles, there was laughing, they were just in awe of the story when we started rehearsing it, and Colton the composer did a great job," Vaughn said. "Different styles and making it fun to sing."
The choir sang it Tuesday night for the family and a packed crowd, sharing a little boy's story for the whole world to hear.
"We've opened our hearts and shared our story and took on opportunities like this one, and really in the end, it's been something not just good for our boys but for our whole family," Corri said.
She added that Colton is currently in remission and has one year left of treatment.