Christian Bale Fulfills 5-Year Old Cancer Patient’s Wish

Electroshadow has been feeling a little under the weather, and this being Monday, it sure doesn’t help. So a news piece like this one is greatly welcome. Makes it feel like whatever personal slog you’re going through, it can always be worse.

Take little Jayden Barber from Youngstown, Ohio. He’s just 5 years old yet he’s been through what can only be described as a living hell. Jayden has been suffering from not one but several types of cancer. Back in 2010, doctors informed the boy’s parents that their son had a rare form of cancer, in his right arm running from his elbow to his shoulder. He immediately began chemotherapy treatment which sent the cancer into remission, but the family was stunned to find out that Jayden had developed another form of cancer.

Then in July this year, after a long, arduous battle, doctors broke the bad news that there was nothing more they could do for him. They estimated that Jayden only had five to six weeks left before he would be bedridden for his final six months. The family decided they would make the toddler’s final weeks as joyful as possible, by fulfilling his personal wishlist. First a puppy, then a family vacation at the beach. But there was one wish at the top of Jayden’s list that seemed near impossible to fulfill: he wanted to meet his favourite superhero Batman before he died.

The residents of Youngstown heard about the wish, and they banded together to help the Barber family. Here is an extract from a local townsfolk’s blog that reveals what transpired:

“The city of Youngstown, Ohio, Jayden’s home, has been called many things but until you live here, you will never understand the will and determination of this community. Together, more than 30,000 people joined the Facebook movement “Lighting the Bat Signal for Jayden”. The effort was to get Christian Bale, the real Batman, to come and meet Jayden. It was a tall order, but not one tall enough for Youngstown to back down from. Those labeled “Jayden’s Warriors” spread the word to anyone within an earshot and on August 23rd, Jayden got to meet “Batman”.

At a local area middle school football field, Jayden was escorted by his parents while thousands of “Warriors” cheered him on. He got to light the Bat Signal and even got to ride in the Bat Mobile. This was the night of Jayden’s life. Batman, “real” or not and accompanied by many other super heroes, made Jayden’s wish come true.

Even though Christian Bale was not able to appear at that event, the Barber family has revealed on Jayden’s Facebook page that Bale flew Jayden and his family to Los Angeles this past Wednesday: “Finally can share!!! Christian sent us to LA and we had lunch at Disney club 33 on wed!! He and his family were so awesome and down to earth!!!”"

Here are some shots of Bruce Wayne/The Dark Knight himself, posing with little Jayden and his family…

This story has a happy ending… of sorts. As of today, Jayden’s test results have shown that his cancer has once again gone into remission. What a fighter! However, while the family is happy, they are taking the good news with caution, as this has happened several times before, only to return later with escalating seriousness.

Electroshadow’s thoughts go out to this courageous child and his family. And a hearty salute to you, Mr. Bale. First, a personal visit to the victims of the cinema shooting in Colorado back in July, and now this. You’re a class act.