nathan norman and his family will be at the inauguration. the invitation was just the latest show of support the cancer-stricken child has received since he asked for christmas cards from firefighters and first responders. i'm mara schiavocampo and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> one man in china might be lighter than a feather. a home decorator managed to stand on top of several rows of eggs without breaking a single shell. he balanced on the eggs and even picked up a bicycle with his mouth for the tv show inspired feat. despite breaking plenty of eggs, i'm sure he did, he's ready for the next big challenge, no word on what that is. >>> well, watch what you eat. the extreme eating awards have ranked the worst dishes at your favorite restaurants. the annual awards list chart-topping deep fried breakfast steak from ihop. no surprise there. smoothies with 22 spoons of sugar from smoothie king. and creamy pasta from the cheesecake factory, thousands of calories. they are delicious. and for d

. >> reporter: nathan norman is a lively 6-year-old boy with a deadly type of brain cancer and so lasttember his mother dawn asked what he might want for christmas in advance just in case, and what he wanted was a few cards from police or firemen. >> why was he asking? for christmas cards from police and firefighters? >> he's 100%. to him, police firemen, military that's his heroes. >> what happened next was his wish around the world. nathan's request went viral on the internet with viral being an understatement. police, fire and military units did not just send cards. hundreds of officers every week are showing up at his lynchburg, virginia, home in person. they want to meet nathan, put their arms around nathan be arrested by nathan. the border patrol brought their drug-sniffing dogs. the secret service brought their bomb detection robots. 250 state troopers drove from new england to salute nathan in formation. the family still gets cards, uniformsing s uniforms, combat yards. and they tell him he is their hero for the battle he is waging. here's a boy who could have asked go to disne

. >> reporter: in the last few months the normans have met hundreds of public safety workers from all over the world. they've been coming to encourage nathan during his battle with cancer. >> nathan's big thing the first time the secret service came out to visit him was how can they come out to see me if it's supposed to be a secret? >> reporter: it's no secret now. they're excited about next week's event. >> monday we're supposed to be picked up by the secret service. we'll be with them the entire time. that's going to be a real treat for the kids because they love asking them all kind of questions. >> reporter: nathan has a brother and two sisters that will join him on his presidential journey. what are you looking forward to the most? >> probably seeing him in person. >> reporter: they're not sure if they'll actually have a chance to speak to the president. if that does happen, the kids have one question for him. >> maybe talk to him about jesus. >> reporter: faith is important to the normans. it's something they'd love to share with the president as he starts his 2nd term. >> i know my husband has said he'd really like to pray for him