Terminally Ill 12-Year-Old's Dream Comes True When Celebrity Hero Surprises Him for Birthday
It’s not every day you get to meet your idol, especially when that idol is WWE champion wrestler and actor John Cena.
Wrestling fans know Cena as an iconic athlete and body builder. Others will recognize him from his acting roles in popular films such as “Bumblebee” and “Ferdinand.”
However you recognize him, you can add “nicest guy ever” to Cena’s list of qualities. What he did for a disabled boy just before his 13th birthday was above and beyond what anyone expected.
“Never underestimate the power of an act of kindness,” Cena wrote on Twitter.
Never underestimate the power of an act of kindness.
— John Cena (@JohnCena) May 24, 2019
Diego Hernandez will turn 13 on June 1st, but his journey to the teenage years has not been without its challenges.
At just 8 days old, Diego underwent his first surgery, WHSV-TV reported. He was born with craniosynostosis — a medical condition that affects how his brain and skull develop. Then, at 9 days old, Diego had a stroke.
Despite all this, the boy’s mom — Wendy Seekford — told Liftable, a section of The Western Journal, that Diego “is a happy little boy that loves everybody that he meet.”
“He has taught me to be tough just like him,” Seekford said.
Diego has had six surgeries throughout his lifetime, but at this point there’s not much more doctors can do.
“To say that he’s been through so much in his life and still be as happy as he is is amazing,” Seekford told WHSV-TV.
Now Diego has one more reason to be happy. For his birthday he wanted a WWE themed party — his favorite wrestler and idol is none other than John Cena.
“A few years ago he became a WWE Fan and started to fall in love with John Cena,” Seekford told Liftable in a Facebook message.
“All he ever talks about it how much he would love to meet John Cena and go to a wrestling match and see him fight and that he was tough like John Cena was.”
Cena heard about Diego’s birthday wish and decided to pay him a little visit. The video of their sweet meeting will melt your heart.
Wow! What a guy! Not only did he bring a box of swag for Diego to use at his party, he also said he wanted to hang out and talk wrestling!
“There are no words to express how happy I am that his dreams actually came true and Diego got to meet John Cena today,” Seekford wrote on Facebook.
“He is beyond happy. Thank you so much for making my son’s dreams come true.”
You can expect to see a lot more of Cena interacting with kids as the host for the relaunch of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader,” airing on Nickelodeon this summer.
For now, he’s made a huge difference in one kid’s life that won’t soon be forgotten.
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