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Dying 9-year-old seeks to break Christmas card record — see how you can help

Jamie Weinstein Senior Writer
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Nine-year old Dalton Dingus is dying of cystic fibrosis, but the Kentucky native has a dying wish: to break the world record for receiving the most Christmas cards. His mother reported Friday on Facebook that he has nearly 100,000.

Dalton has already received tens of thousands of cards from all over the world, according to ABC News, and celebrity guests have come personally to deliver theirs — including the reigning Miss Kentucky and one of the stars of Animal Planet’s “Call of the Wildman.”

ABC News reports that doctors basically gave up on Dingus in October.

“We left the hospital to come home. They gave him two to eight days to live,” his mother, Jessica Dingus, said.

But Dalton has beaten the odds each day. What keeps him going, his mother says, is his quest to break the Christmas card record.

“The cards give him something to look forward to. Something to get excited about,” his 27-year-old mother said. “The prayers are working.”

Though the Guinness Book of World Records told ABC News it “currently does not monitor a category for this,” the record when Guinness did keep tack was just over 205,000. Dalton is receiving thousands of cards every day, and Guinness is in touch with the family to see if a new record can be recorded.

According to ABC, Dalton digests 18 different types of medication and goes through 12 liters of oxygen every day. But even those obstacles may not prevent him from being a record breaker.

To help Dalton smash the record, send a Christmas card to: Dalton Dingus, HC 62 Box 1249, Salyersville, KY 41465.

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Jamie Weinstein