Eddie Van Halen makes terminally ill fan’s dreams come true
The ever-genial Eddie Van Halen has helped a dying Van Halen fan kick an item off his bucket list.
Previously healthy for his entire life, in 2013 54-year-old North Carolina native Michael Brewer was diagnosed with auto-immune disease and this was swiftly followed by Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and prostate cancer that metastasised to his bones.
Despite undergoing gruelling chemotherapy treatment, Brewer was told his cancer was terminal so he compiled a bucket list of things to do before he dies.
Having ticked off going on a helicopter ride in December, on Monday (6th February) he fulfilled another one of his wishes – meeting his musical hero Eddie Van Halen.
According to a report on Van Halen News Desk, Eddie called Michael via FaceTime for an in-depth chat and his wife Julie later shared photos of the experience on Facebook.
> Man battling cancer meets #EddieVanHalen via FaceTime: https://t.co/xMMyb8Aejm #vanhalen pic.twitter.com/qghnPQVXy8 > > — Van Halen News Desk (@VanHalenNews) February 7, 2017
She wrote: “Soooo…this just happened! Eddie & his wife Janie were simply Amazing! Felt like we were sitting and chatting with a close friend! Thanks to Eddie & Janie Van Halen & everyone at LCFH (Lower Cape Fear Hospice) for making Michael’s dream come true! Eddie still has the best smile.”
Eddie himself is a cancer survivor and started treatment for tongue cancer in May 2000. Having had a third of his tongue surgically removed, Eddie was declared cancer-free in May 2002.
Speaking to Star News Online about his cancer, Michael Brewer said: "I've got a lot I want to do, but it's time. Time flies quickly. When I was younger it was surfing, everything a young man does. And then my life just sort of comes to a stop. I can't even get out and wash my truck; everything's a struggle."
He also urged people not to put off achieving their dreams in life: "You don't have to wait until you get sick to take a helicopter ride."