Ryan Wilcox, like a lot of high school students, is a huge Marvel fan. He is also a cancer patient. At just three years old Ryan battled a brain tumor and came out victorious, but with a cost. A side effect of the chemotherapy and radiation treatments led to a rare blood disorder called secondary Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). Ryan received a bone marrow transplant in 2015 and only recently he and his family learned that Ryan has relapsed from that transplant.
Ryan attends Grossmont High School in San Diego, California. To say that his school has rallied behind him is an understatement. In hopes of getting the attention of some of his favorite super heroes, Grossmont HS held a rally to support his cause “#RyanStrong”. To their excitement, Chris Evans sent Ryan a video message. In the video Evans says “It’s people like you with strength like yours that inspire people like me, stay strong!”
But that wasn’t enough. Little did Evans know that Marvel and particularly Gwenyth Paltrow had something bigger planned. Today Paltrow, Evans and Robert Downey Jr hopped in a helicopter and flew to San Diego to visit Ryan Wilcox in person!
Paltrow documented the trip on her Instagram page.
Paltrow’s message read “Today @ryanwilcox0303 got a little surprise. Thank you to the incredible #chrisevans and my better work half @robertdowneyjr for being the men you both are. And thank you to the Wilcox family for your hospitality! #ryanstrong”
A Facebook page called Team Ryan, Stay Strong and Fight ON has been set up to support Ryan in his fight also shared several photos from the meeting.
Super heroes on the big screen? Yes. But today Gwenyth Paltrow, Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr were real life super heroes, just for Ryan Wilcox and his family.
If you’d like to support the Wilcox family, there is a You Caring page set up here: Help Support Ryan’s Fight Against Cancer. If you can’t spare any money, you can also go to the page and simply share it to social media to help spread the word.