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Kind strangers step up as superheroes for young Halifax boy battling cancer

Ryan Adams and mom Carmen show off the super-bag.

Last summer, we wrote about a Brazilian children's cancer centre that rebranded chemotherapy as "superformula," covering intravenous bags with symbols from Justice League characters.

A Halifax mom wanted something similar for her six-year-old son undergoing three years of treatment at IWK Health Centre to force his leukemia into remission.

"He's a tough guy. He's our little superhero," Carmen Co-Dyre Adams described her son, Ryan, to CBC News.

Adams wanted to take the "scary" out of Ryan's hospital experience and thought that transforming the look of the chemotherapy bag was a good place to start.

"I didn't want him to see that stuff. If I could take one little thing away, then I would do that," she said.

Unfortunately, she couldn't find a superhero cover for her son locally, and the Brazilian ones weren't available either.

Enter Superhero number one: Renee Dawe, a stranger who was moved by Ryan's story on Facebook. She decided to intervene on his family's behalf.

Enter Superheroes numbers two and three: Allie Munro and Mick Bottom.

Dawe contacted Munro, a multimedia specialist, who then contacted Mick Bottom, who runs the 3D printer at Dalhousie University.

Together, the good Samaritans volunteered their time to design and print a hard plastic version of a superhero cover. Total cost: $9.

"Basically to be able to give him superhuman power juice is a great feeling. I hope it really lifts his spirits," Bottom told CBC News.

"The idea is that Ryan will look at it and perhaps think that he’s getting super-human powers and help lift his spirits in a rather unfortunate medical treatment," said Munro.

Their efforts were met with a huge smile.

"Awesome. It has my name on it and the Superman thing," Ryan said of his chemo-bag makeover.

On Saturday, Ryan's mom posted a photo of something else sure to lift Ryan's spirits: "Super Ryan," his very own action figure.