Cystic fibrosis doesn't hold one Salyersville boy back--especially from his dreams.
Dalton Dingus, 9, has stage 4 cystic fibrosis--a potentially fatal lung disease--and a really big dream: he wants to break the Guinness World Record for the most Christmas cards.
Dalton's mother, Jessica Dingus, said it's going well.
"It started out slow at first...seven the first day, then ten, then it started going into hundreds, and now it's in the thousands," she said.
The world record is 35,000. The United States Postal Service said Dalton received nearly 20,000 cards on Saturday alone.
After (unofficially) shattering the record, Dalton decided he wanted to go even further: 100,000.
And others, like a certain red-clothed man named St. Nick, were happy to help.
On Saturday, Santa Claus and some of his helpers hand-delivered a four-by-eight foot Christmas card made especially for Dalton.
Dingus said the sheer amount of cards is overwhelming--she and her family aren't even close to finished going through them all--but that the letters say really great things.
"How much they love him--they don't even know him--and how, you know, they set goals for themselves, too. He's just nine years old and he's set goals for himself. And just how blessed they feel to just know him. To hear his story," she said.
Dingus said her family continues to keep the faith, and hopes for a full recovery for Dalton.
And the boy himself said that he doesn't plan on going anywhere anytime soon.
"I'm not dyin'," proclaimed Dalton.
As of Saturday, Dingus estimated the number to be around 110,000. But she said they expect to keep receiving them through Christmas.
If you'd like to send a Christmas card to Dalton, address it to:
Dalton Dingus
H.C. 62 Box 1249
Salyersville, KY 41465
