A six-year-old boy who has been battling leukemia for three years received a standing ovation from his classmates after finishing his last round of chemotherapy.
John Oliver Zippay of Newbury, Ohio, was in and out of school after he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age three in 2016.
But on December 27, John Oliver, or J.O., walked out of a local hospital after undergoing his last chemotherapy treatment and his classmates chose to celebrate the big achievement.
Footage from the heartwarming moment show several of John Oliver's schoolmates lined against a hallway in St. Helen Catholic School, anxiously waiting for his arrival.
As John Oliver enters the walkway, the children and faculty break out into joyous applause as he struts down the corridor.
Waiting for John Oliver at the end of the applause were his parents, John and Megan Zippay.
'He's doing great! Yeah, he's feeling better. A lot of his side effects over the years involved his legs from the steroids and he's doing great,' John told Fox 8.
His parents are thrilled at the news, noting that the past three years were difficult.
'He had a meta-port in his chest so he wasn't able to do any physical activity for three years. So it was hard for him, had to sit back for gym class and things,' they said.
John Oliver is an 'old soul', according to a family friend who helped organize the celebration.
Shannon Formanski said: 'He loves planes, he's kind of an old soul, he loves WWII and all that kind of stuff so he's really excited to be able to travel a bit more and do that kind of stuff.'
![John Zippay: '[John Oliver's] doing great! Yeah, he's feeling better. A lot of his side effects over the years involved his legs from the steroids and he's doing great](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/01/12/05/23293024-7878043-image-a-49_1578807173996.jpg)
Megan shared a similar sentiment, saying: 'You want that for your child, to grow up and get dirty and play outside and have fun and we kept him in a bubble so we're excited. Looking forward to the future and having our little boy back.'
Following the standing ovation, a school assembly was held that played a video montage of John Oliver's valiant battle.
Principal Patrick Gannon shared how excited John Oliver's friends were to have him back in school.
'Him having to miss some of the time was tough, but the class was just so happy to see him come back,' he said.
The Zippays first realized John Oliver's illness around Halloween 2016 when John Oliver fell and hit his head on a bed's headboard, CNN reports.
The boy's face became discolored and he became lethargic, prompting his parents to take him to the doctor.
After several blood tests, their doctor called in the middle of the night and urged them to take John Oliver to the emergency room.
John said: 'It was a real shock because that's when the word cancer started getting thrown around.'
When the parents heard leukemia, 'everything just stopped right there and then,' John said.
The family, including their older daughter Bella, spent 18 days in the hospital where John Oliver underwent blood transfusions, marrow biopsies and several tests.
Throughout it all, the Zippays are thankful for their strong support system.
John said: 'We consider ourselves so lucky and so blessed. We've had so much support from family, friends, community members, the school and hospital staff.'
On John Oliver's last day of chemotherapy, hospital staff, family and friends gathered to watch him ring the bell patients ring when they finish treatment.
'And that's when I told him, "okay buddy, you gotta ring the bell. Ring it for all the kids who didn't have the chance to ring it" and it's like everything went into slow motion for me,' John said.
'He rang it so hard, he was so proud.'
