An eight-year-old Ottawa boy, who’s in Boston for a highly targeted form of radiation, received a surprise hospital visit Friday from Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds, who praised the young patient’s mettle and grit.
“It’s a lot for an eight-year-old kid to shoulder, I hope you know that,” Reynolds told Nash Coté, who’s in the Boston Children’s Hospital to receive proton radiation, a treatment unavailable at CHEO.
Proton radiation uses energy from positively charged particles to precisely target a tumour, preserving more of the healthy tissue around it.
Nash, the son of veteran Ottawa radio and TV broadcaster Angie Poirier, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer earlier this year. It all began with a small lump on his chest that continued to grow, and was found to be malignant.
He was eventually diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer that starts as a growth of cells in soft tissue.
Surgery was not an option for Nash, so his treatment plan called for a year-and-a-half of chemotherapy and radiation, with a six-week stay at Boston’s children’s hospital for proton radiation.
In Boston, Nash had a radiation mask built to better target the radiation, and he chose to decorate it like a Deadpool mask. Enter Ryan Reynolds.
Poirier and Reynolds had followed each other on Twitter for years. When she sent him a picture of Nash’s custom Deadpool radiation mask, he wrote back and said he wanted to meet her son in Boston. The family kept the behind-the-scenes arrangements secret, so Nash couldn’t believe his eyes when Reynolds walked in his hospital room door.
They talked for more than an hour and shared a video call with actor Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine in the X-Men film franchise.
Poirier posted pictures and video of the visit to her Facebook page. “Thank you endlessly Ryan, for this incredible memory we will all have forever!” she told Reynolds.
The day was a fairytale, Poirier said.
“It was the best day,” she said.
Born in Vancouver, Reynolds is married to actress Blake Lively, with whom he shares four children.
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