Former WBZ-TV meteorologist Sarah Wroblewski will be Massachusetts Congresswoman Katherine Clark's special guest at President Trump's joint address to Congress Tuesday night.

Wroblewski's 4-year-old son Declan has been fighting a rare form of stage four brain cancer known as Medulloblastoma.

"Declan has less than a 5 percent chance of survival. That's what we were told," Wroblewski said.

He went through six rounds of chemotherapy and three rounds of stem cell transplants.

He receives 12 different medications a day through a feeding tube and relies on a walker for stability. Declan, against the odds, is alive thanks to a clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is that very funding the Trump administration seeks to cut, according to Clark.

NIH funding cuts

"We are depending on research to continue his life. We hope that research is going to save him. We don't know what his next treatment option will be, and it could be funded by the NIH. It could be devastating to him because we need that research. Every second every day counts," Wroblewski explained.

Sarah's story caught the attention of Clark, when Wroblewski posted a picture of Declan to X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

"Sarah's tweet brought it all home, what these cuts mean. It's not just numbers in a budget, it's families. It's Declan, it's Sarah, it's her family. And it's families like this across the Commonwealth and across the country who are looking for hope, who have received a diagnosis that has turned their lives upside down. Their hope is through science and research," Clark said.

When asked about her immediate reaction to hearing about the cuts, Wroblewski said, "I was angry, I was confused. I didn't understand why you would put kids who are battling for their life on the chopping block? We're talking pennies that are given to pediatric cancer and you want to take those away?"

According to the National Cancer Institute, the government only funds four percent of pediatric cancer research. That four percent has made all the difference for Declan, who is now well enough to go to school and play with his twin brother JB. While the proposed cuts have been put on hold by the courts for now, if approved they could have wide-ranging effects in Massachusetts.

NIH funding cuts in Massachusetts

"It will cost jobs, and it will cost us economically. We get $3.5 billion, we are one of the largest recipients of NIH funding in the country because we have these academic powerhouses that allow us to take that research, that research that was the basis for the treatment that Declan has received and put that into the marketplace. So, this is about a severe loss economically as well as on the personal family level," Clark explained.

Several members of the Massachusetts delegation will have a special guest with them Tuesday night. Representative Clark asked Wroblewski to join her.

"We're going to do some press conferences; we're going to tell her story. She's going to come with me to hear the president's address to Congress to bear witness for families across this country, across Massachusetts, who are looking at these cuts and know the impact on their family," Clark said.

She hopes Sarah and Declan's story will send a message to the Trump administration that cutting these funds will have devastating consequences for kids fighting life-threatening illnesses.

"I'm so grateful that Sarah's willing to do this. None of this is easy. She has four children she is caring for. For her to take the time to come and tell her story to the American public, it's what brings home the portrayal of this administration for families like Sarah's," Clark added.

"There's no evidence of disease right now. The treatment is working. I have chills. He still has mobility issues he has cognitive delays. He is still that funny curious little kid. He's just a little bit different than he was before but we're hopeful. We can't say that he's cancer-free because he's still in treatment, but our doctors did say this far past his first treatment, it is amazing to see clear scans. He's a little fighter. We just need everyone to fight with us," Wroblewski said.

WBZ reached out to the White House for a comment but has not heard back.   

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Original story HERE.