It was big day for a pint-sized heavy metal fan at the Montreal Children’s Hospital who got to meet one of his real-life heroes Wednesday.
Milan Rossignol, who turns three in August, is a patient in the hospital’s intensive care unit where he’s been receiving chemotherapy treatments for a rare type of cancer.
The toddler has been in and out of hospital since he was first diagnosed with a severe form of Langerhans cell histiocytosis as a one-year-old.
While Milan is non verbal because of his illness, his love for American heavy metal band Metallica comes through loud and clear.
So much so, that his doctors at the hospital launched a successful Twitter campaign requesting a virtual meeting with the band.
“You can see his face light up whenever their videos are playing on the computer,” Dr. Sharon Abish, a pediatric oncologist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital told Global News earlier this week.
The much-anticipated meeting took place Thursday afternoon, with drummer Lars Ulrich chatting it up with Milan and his parents, Yannick Rossignol and Catherine Perreault, as well as Milan’s siblings.
For the family, it was a dream come true.
Perreault was sporting a Metallica T-shirt emblazoned with a drawing of Milan as a superhero on the back, but after it was all said and done, she admitted she might have room for another hero in her life.
“He’s my new hero,” she said of Ulrich, adding he’d requested a Milan T-shirt of his own.
After helping one dream come true, Rossignol is hopeful the hospital will keep working miracles when it comes to Milan’s health.
While Milan faces a tough road ahead, his family remains positive.
“We move forward,” Rossignol said. “We don’t give up,” added Perreault.