A three-year-old named Ethan Carnesecca has been in a hospital in Salt Lake City for almost a month with pneumonia.  And his parents recently noticed the only thing that cheered him up was playing with his Hot Wheels.

He always holds one in his hand when he has a procedure, and keeps them lined up next to him on his bed.  He’s so protective, his nurses won’t even touch them.

Earlier this month, a friend of Ethan’s dad who happens to run a blog about COLLECTING Hot Wheels heard about it, and asked if he could post something.

And since then, Ethan has been up to his ears in toy cars . . . because collectors from all over the WORLD have been mailing them in.

He’s gotten about 200 cars so far, including more than a hundred this week alone.  And more cars keep showing up every day.

His parents say he still has a ways to go, but he’s doing a lot better.  And he’s been smiling a lot more than he was.