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"How long have you known you wanted to be a Formula 1 driver? «
Pedro:
"Ever since I was born."
This is Pedro. He is eight years old and lives in Arvada, Colorado. Pedro has a dream that many boys have: he wants to become a racing driver.
Pedro:
»I love the speed, the centrifugal forces. And every weekend I watched Formula 1 with my brother and my dad.«
Pedro was a normal boy until he woke up two years ago with pain in his right leg. The diagnosis: Ewing's sarcoma: A special type of bone cancer. The tumor was located on the underside of his right thigh near his knee. 18 centimeters of the femur had to be removed.
Laetitia Doetz, mother of Pedro:
"It was very difficult. He was in treatment for almost a year. He had to endure chemotherapy for nine months. And then he had a major surgery. You want to see your child run and play. That it can do all the things that kids should be doing."
Instead of a complete amputation, the parents opted for another option. During the operation, a titanium prosthesis was inserted into his leg. That's why the leg looks "normal" from the outside - except for a large scar. However, there is no bone in his thigh or knee, the implant replaces him.
Laetitia Doetz:
"We had a serious discussion and said that all he ever wanted was to race. And if we had had the leg amputated, he wouldn't have had that sensitivity in his foot anymore. So we weighed the pros and cons and discussed with him and the doctors and decided that this was the best option for him, even though we knew that recovery would be more difficult and that more surgeries would be on the agenda."
Hospitalizations, injections, medication, nausea, hair loss and again and again longer periods in which he could not go to school.
Pedro:
"It was really hard for me. It has cost me a great deal of sympathy, and it has caused me a great deal of pain."
Pedro:
"The thought of being able to get on a go-kart one day motivated me.
At school, Pedro was often teased. He couldn't walk well, but he could ride all the better. So good, in fact, that he achieved quite a few successes. Although he had just started karting, he immediately won races in the local championship, the Colorado Karting Tour.
Laetitia Doetz:
"The first time we put him in his go-kart, his leg was in plaster. His quadriceps didn't work at all. He had to lift his leg and lift it into his go-kart. But we knew: That's what he enjoys. He then sat in the go-kart, and we saw that this was something special. He's got serious talent. And great ambition."
The family now spends almost every weekend on go-kart tracks. Pedro is coached by his father, who also acts as a mechanic. In order to make him happy during the difficult therapy period, his parents gave him his own racing kart for Christmas last year.
Pedro:
"I came downstairs and saw this big car in the living room. It was packaged. And then I just sat in it for a very long time. I didn't pay any attention to the other gifts."
Laetitia Doetz: "And how excited were you? «
Pedro: "Super excited."
Pedro has been racing for a good twenty months now. The next one is scheduled for February. Before that, he will undergo another operation in November. The aim is to improve his mobility with the prosthetic leg.
Laetitia Doetz:
"It's going to be a pretty big operation. It will take about five hours. They will remove the titanium prosthesis from his shin and put it back in. He will have to stay in the hospital for a week and recover for a long time. So he knows that his next big goal is to be ready to race in February."
Pedro hasn't beaten cancer yet. But his family and his passion help him through life – and if it doesn't work out with Formula 1, the 8-year-old has a plan B
Pedro:
"I want to go to college when I grow up. I'd like to study engineering – and learn more about cars."