The Avengers Make One Cancer Patient’s Dream Come True

The Avengers spend most of their time saving the world from disaster — or, as in Captain America: Civil War, fighting amongst themselves. But as a recent outing proved, the stars of Marvel’s blockbuster cinematic universe are also no slouches when it comes to lifting the spirits of those in difficult circumstances.

As first reported by People.com, 18-year-old Ryan Wilcox from San Diego was recently diagnosed with leukemia for the second time, and in response, he took to Twitter — using the hashtag #ryanstrong — to voice his fandom for, and desire to meet, his Avengers idols. That grassroots campaign attracted the notice of none other than Pepper Potts herself, Gwyneth Paltrow, who was so touched by Ryan’s tale that she convinced her co-stars Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans (a.k.a. Iron Man and Captain America) to join her on a surprise visit to Wilcox’s home – a mission that began with Evans sending Ryan a video message encouraging him to keep up the good fight.

Paltrow documented their trip in a series of Instagram pictures:

After an afternoon spent hanging out with his favorite Marvel studio stars, Ryan even got Evans to decorate his Captain America-postered bedroom with an autograph.