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  • 9/21/2023
An eight-year-old who lost the lower part of his leg to cancer has reignited his dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver, topping the podium of a junior go-karting race using a prosthetic leg. Pedro Cueto, from Arvada, Colorado, has always been fascinated with cars – so much so that his first word was "vroooom," his family revealed. When Pedro, aged eight, would get a belly ache, he would say his engine hurts, while all of his Halloween costumes and birthday cakes have been car-themed. From this love of cars, Pedro has always dreamed of becoming a Formula 1 driver – but in September 2021, his family received devastating news. After Pedro woke up with pain in his knee, which persisted for a number of days, he was taken to Children's Hospital Colorado, where he was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a rare kind of cancer that occurs in bones and the soft tissue around them. Pedro spent nine months in and out of the hospital, receiving chemotherapy, blood transfusions, various medications and, eventually, surgery. Pedro's parents promised him that if he kept going through treatment and, later, physiotherapy, they would treat him to a go-kart once he was well enough to use it. Many see junior karting as the first step on the F1 ladder, and having seen his condition improve, Pedro was surprised with the go-kart as a Christmas present. After finishing his first race in second place, Pedro later finished first in another, standing proudly on top of the podium at Grand Junction Motor Speedway in Grand Junction, Colorado, on May 7.
Transcript
00:00 He didn't sleep with a stuffed animal.
00:01 He'd sleep with a Hot Wheel.
00:03 - Yes, Pedro!
00:04 - When did you know that you wanted
00:07 to be a Formula One driver?
00:08 - When I was born, baby.
00:10 - When you were born a baby, okay, thank you.
00:13 - One of his very first words was "Rules" for cars.
00:17 He used to wear down the sides of his shoes
00:20 because he'd be running around in circles,
00:22 kind of skidding his feet, pretending to be a race car.
00:25 Kids, they have their dinosaur phase, their train phase.
00:28 For Pedro, it was only ever race cars.
00:31 - Pedro was diagnosed with rare bone cancer
00:33 when he was six.
00:35 He spent nine months in and out of the hospital,
00:38 had major leg surgery, and now has a prosthetic leg.
00:42 - We always told him, you know,
00:43 when you're done with treatment,
00:44 and if you're able to work hard in PT
00:47 and you're able to get cleared for it,
00:49 we'll get you a go-kart.
00:50 And that recovery comes down to hard work and pain, really.
00:55 And you can't do it for him.
00:58 All the love in the world can't do that for him.
01:00 It'll hurt, and it'll bring him to tears,
01:02 and he'll just kind of channel what he wants,
01:05 which is to be a Formula One driver.
01:07 And he'll think of, you know,
01:09 the drivers that he looks up to.
01:11 - About six months out of chemo,
01:13 Pedro continued to channel that motivation
01:16 to regain function in his leg.
01:18 And that's when the long-awaited day
01:20 to get his go-kart finally arrived.
01:23 - He got his go-kart on Christmas morning.
01:26 (car engine revving)
01:27 - Oh my God!
01:28 - Whoa!
01:29 - One of my favorite memories ever
01:31 is seeing him unwrap his go-kart.
01:34 We would go to the track,
01:35 and people started approaching us,
01:37 the owner of the track, you know,
01:38 other parents that were out there,
01:40 saying like, "Hey, your kid's really good.
01:41 Have you thought about joining the state championships?"
01:44 (baby crying)
01:46 We decided to sign him up.
01:48 Probably been in his go-kart like three times
01:53 before the first race, finished second.
01:55 (car engine revving)
01:58 By the following race, he was in first place.
02:02 - Yes, Pedro!
02:06 (laughing)
02:08 - Number one, Pedro Gueto.
02:11 (crowd cheering)
02:14 - He wants to be the first formula one driver
02:16 with a prosthetic leg,
02:17 so he can show everyone that you can do hard things,
02:21 even when it seems impossible,
02:22 even when people tell you you can't.
02:25 (gentle music)
02:27 - All right.
02:28 (crowd cheering)
02:28 Hold this group, you can go ahead.
02:30 - When your child is diagnosed, you're heartbroken.
02:34 The sadness comes from,
02:37 you know they're gonna suffer so much,
02:39 and you fear for their loss of life, right?
02:45 Are they gonna get to live their dreams?
02:46 And so seeing him get to live his dreams is,
02:51 I mean, I would do anything
02:52 to continue to watch this happen.
02:54 He just is, he's living it,
02:56 and we weren't always sure if he'd be able to.
03:00 - Why do you want to be a formula one driver so bad?
03:03 - Because I love cars and I love being in the pressure.
03:06 - He understands the racing line.
03:07 He's just really good at it, and it's amazing,
03:10 and it gives him this confidence.
03:12 He'll never be able to run around like other kids
03:14 or play soccer like other kids,
03:16 but he is not even phased by it
03:18 because he's just living his dream.
03:21 He is, it gives him confidence.
03:23 It gives him something to live for, really.
03:25 - Let's go, please give him a hand.
03:26 (audience applauding)
03:28 Good job, great racing.

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