TAMPA, Fla. — Eric Piburn, a Tampa Bay teen who made it his mission to spread kindness and hope to anyone he met, died Wednesday afternoon, family friend Julie Weintraub confirmed to 10 Tampa Bay.
The 14-year-old was born with congenital heart defects and had undergone four open-heart surgeries throughout his life. There were no additional operations as doctors, sadly, ran out of treatment options.
Family members earlier this week said Piburn entered hospice care. At his request, they stopped some of his medications and helped to give him whatever made him comfortable.
In 2016, 10 Tampa Bay helped arrange for Piburn, a "Wheel of Fortune" megafan, to "meet" the show’s hosts, Pat Sajak and Vanna White, in a satellite interview. Upon seeing the game show hosts on screen, he shouted, "That was so amazing!"
Piburn was named the "kindness warrior of the year" in 2018 and, the following year, he helped organize a toy drive at American Social in Tampa. The Tampa Bay community later helped to pay it forward, celebrating Piburn on his 14th birthday with a car parade featuring his favorite movie character, Lightning McQueen.
Eric's birthday parade
His family created The Eric Piburn Foundation in his honor, which will raise money to provide toys for kids on their birthdays.
“It’s basically the way we are going to continue Eric’s legacy after he’s gone,” his mother, Randi, told 10 Tampa Bay earlier.
The Piburn family will sell T-shirts to raise money for the foundation. The back will read his motto: “Every kid deserves a toy on their birthday and every toy deserves a kid to play with.”
Back in January, Piburn said he wants his legacy to be about giving and making kids smile.
A fundraiser has been set up to help the family pay for Piburn's funeral expenses. More than $15,000 has been raised as of Wednesday afternoon. You can donate here.