A Little Boy With Cancer Fulfills His Lifelong Dream: Becoming A Paleontologist For A Day

6-year-old with terminal cancer gets to be a paleontologist for a day.

Created by Barry Wasserman (User Generated Content*)User Generated Content is not posted by anyone affiliated with, or on behalf of, Playbuzz.com.

On Jun 29, 2017

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Meet Riley Voss, a 6-year-old from North Carolina

Riley checks out a drawer of fossils at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science

Riley love dinosaurs and often pretends to be a paleontology professor

Riley was recently diagnosed with a very aggressive pediatric cancer.

His condition is considered terminal.

Knowing his time is limited, Riley's parents are determined to make each day of his life a great adventure.

So when the North Carolina Museum of Natural History reached out about bringing Riley to the museum to be a paleontologist for a day, they jumped at the chance.

He's even pretended to be a professor teaching people about dinosaurs. We know, realistically, that's not something in his future.

Ashley Voss

Riley's Mother

On his big day, Riley got to look at fossils, talk dinosaurs and explore the museum

Riley spent the whole day lost in a world of dinosaurs, including his favorite T-Rex and Triceratops.

Seeing Riley enjoy his day so much brought his mom, Ashley, to tears.

"It's hard to put into words how it made me feel because it means so much to me."

Riley examines a fossil up close

Despite the limited time he has left, Riley's parents are trying to stay positive

"All he knows is he has a boo boo in his head, and we told him we are doing all we can to make it better," his mom, Ashley, said.

Ashley says the community, friends and family have made the difficult journey easier.

Riley and his mom check out a special fossil with a NCMNH employee.

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