Last Tuesday, Diane Burge learned her son Hayden, 25, would be entering the final stages of his life, following a battle with heart failure.
The events of the next three days were heartwarming, as family, friends and strangers worldwide rallied to help grant Hayden’s dying wish: to meet John Cena.
On Tuesday night, against all odds and without Diane even knowing the WWE star was in her hometown of Sydney, brave Hayden’s wish was granted.
‘It was a moment of pure joy at a very bad time’: Heartwarming moment Mother cries tears of joy as strangers and friends rally to grant her son’s dying wish of meeting John Cena
What started as desperate Facebook call-out, begging for ‘just 5 minutes’ of Facetime for her son and his Idol, turned into a moment she’ll never forget.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Diane recalled Hayden’s tears of joy upon meeting his idol, after receiving a special invite to the screening of his film, Ferdinand.
‘He was so excited! I could just tell John knew who we were, because he started looking at us, and so I started crying and Hayden started crying.’
When the film ended, a representative found Diane and said: ‘John’s heard about your post and we’re fully aware of it, we’ve heard about it from different avenues.’
The news: Last Tuesday, Diane Burge learned her son Hayden, 25, would be entering the final stages of his life, following a battle with heart failure
‘They said “John’s aware, and he’s going to make a point to talk to Hayden tonight… and then he finally got to talk to him!”‘
Diane fought tears as she recalled the heartwarming moment over the phone, clearly still in shock.
‘There’s no words, really to describe what it did mean to me, because [pause] I always fix things… but I can’t fix what’s happening to Hayden now.’
The plea: What started as desperate Facebook call-out, begging for ‘just 5 minutes’ of Facetime for her son and his Idol, went viral, and turned into a moment she’ll never forget
‘And so, for John Cena doing that for me, was enabling me to give Hayden a moment of pure joy, because he’s not getting many of them now.’
‘And he really was [full of joy] He idolises the man, he’s got almost a man crush on him [laughs], he often says “John’s hot!” and that moment is priceless.’
While it took an entire community of selfless helpers and fans to make it all happen, it all started with Diane’s impassioned plea on social media.
Tears of joy: Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Diane recalled Hayden’s tears of joy upon meeting his idol, after receiving a special invite to the screening of his film, Ferdinand
When the film ended, a representative found Diane and informed her John was aware of her post, and would be making a point to speak to Hayden
‘Last Wednesday, Hayden had a really bad night, and the next day we found that he moves into the final stages of his heart failure and we’ve been really, really struggling the last couple weeks,’ she recalled.
‘He’s just deteriorating, and so I guess I just got a bit reflective of his life and Hayden was listening to John [on TV] at the time.’
‘I thought it would be awesome if I could just Facetime him and I remember seeing on social media other people asking for it, and I thought “why not? No regrets”‘.
Thanks! Diane was incredibly thankful for the community support and for John’s kindness
Diane then bravely explained how challenging it’s been for her to witness her son in such pain.
‘I can’t make what’s wrong with him better and I can’t make it right, and I’ve always done that, so I was sort of thinking, well, how can I at least put a smile on his face?’
Idol: Diane revealed Hayden ‘idolises’ John, making the moment extra special
The loving mother, who is full of stories of the joy Hayden brings to everyone he meets, will forever hold this one closest to her heart.
‘It’s a memory that’s etched now for me – at a very bad time – that will stay with us. Now, I have this photo of a moment in time that we were able to bring joy to Hayden.’
‘And I’ll always have that.’
Cherished: Diane is thankful she now has a photo to commemorate the moment