DAVIE, Fla. – The life of a superhero is a busy one, so it came with little surprise when Striker Boy got the call to disarm a bomb at a soccer stadium in Davie.
Joined by his sidekick and older brother, Falcon Boy, the duo saved the stadium from near doom.
But this caped crusader's journey to save South Florida from evil hasn't been an easy one. The 9-year-old from Coral Springs is battling leukemia, a fight Jaylen Hyde is winning with the same determination that helped him put out a fire that burned too close to homes.
Thanks in great part to the work done by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Striker Boy became the superhero we often see on the big screen.
And with some of South Florida's firefighters cheering him on, Striker Boy took on the worst of the worst: a puppy-napper who went by the name of Sneaky Pete.
Perhaps the most emotional part of the day was the standing ovation Striker Boy got from Broward's finest. It was standing-room only as Sheriff Scott Isreal presented Hyde and his brother with an award and made them deputies.
"He's in remission right now," said Hyde's mother, Dahlia Rodriguez. "I'm keeping my hands together and praying to God every night. You have to have faith and you have to have hope."
Striker Boy spent the rest of the day, which also happened to be his birthday, having cake with family and friends.