Grieving Mom Wants Acts of Kindness to Honor Son

Melissa Murray’s son Dorian Murray became an online sensation early last year. The 8-year-old was losing a battling with cancer at the time, and had a final wish to become “famous in China.”

The boy’s wish went viral, with celebrities like Justin Bieber, Olivia Wilde and Rob Gronkowski supporting the #DStrong movement, and spreading the boy’s story so that it could reach China.

#DStrong pic.twitter.com/18gpIbeKuD

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— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) January 29, 2016

Her son passed away last March, and a candlelight vigil was held afterwards. Since then, his mother has maintained a memorial Facebook page and foundation dedicated to him.

This past week, as Dorian’s would-be ninth birthday approached, Melissa took to the page to address how people could honor her son.

She wrote in part, “If you would like to honor Dorian tomorrow, on his birthday, a kind gesture towards someone else would be the perfect way to do it. Anything that brings someone else some positivity is great. Compliment a stranger on their sweater or scarf, purchase the coffee for the person behind you, call a friend and let them know how much you appreciate them. Make someone smile tomorrow, then look up to the sky and wish Dorian a very happy birthday.”

The post quickly garnered a large response, with over 3,000 likes and 1,000 shares as of January 6. In addition, the post has drawn over 500 comments, many of which describe good deeds done in Dorian’s name.

“The idea actually came to me from another mother in a bereavement group I belong to on Facebook. This is a group of mothers that have lost their children to cancer,” she told Your Daily Dish. “One mother shared that Jan 5th was her son’s bday and she was going to do something nice for someone as a gift to her son, who would have been 19. I loved the thought of doing a good deed in memory of someone you love, and I knew Dorian would love it too.”

Murray also talked to us about the large viral response, and what it’s meant to her.

“Seeing how many people responded to the request and all of the amazing things people did for others truly filled a void in me that day. Missing Dorian on his birthday was so difficult, but knowing how much good people were doing for him, again, made the day easier to get through.”

Our thanks to Melissa Murray for speaking with us.