A heart-warming video captured the moment a doctor surprised his 15-year-old patient by dressing up like Chewbacca to tell him he will be getting a new heart.
Austin Eggelston, 15, from Pontiac, Ill., was born with three congenital heart defects. In November, his health started deteriorating and doctors told him he needed a heart transplant to live.
He was transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago where he developed a close relationship with Dr. Philip Thrush, a cardiologist at the hospital.
Eggelston and Thrush discovered that they are both big fans of Chewbacca, after one of the other doctors at the hospital dressed up for one of his patients.
So Eggelston asked Thrush that if one day, a heart was ready for him, he wanted him to dress up like Chewbacca to tell him.
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Several months later, the day finally came. On March 17, Thrush dressed up and surprised Eggelston.
“Austin just knew right away. It was really, really special,” Kathleen Keenan said, a spokesperson at the hospital.
Now, Eggelston is doing well and recovering.
The hospital spokesperson says there are a lot of young people waiting for a heart, so they try everything they can to make their stay as pleasant as they can, even if it means going the extra mile with the little things.
“They have a lot of fun on the floor. Since kids wait so long for a heart, the doctors try to make their stay here more palatable, so they really get close with the families in the unit,” Keenan said.
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