FacebookIn the days before what would be his 18th and final chemotherapy treatment, 9-year old Henry the Warrior received a surprise visit from Jennifer Garner, a celeb his mom says he is a big fan of.
The actress, who is in Atlanta filming Miracles from Heaven, stopped by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta of Scottish Rite on Sunday alongside her co-star Kylie Rogers to visit some of the children and found their way to Henry's room for a quick hello.
"It was like hanging out with a friend," Henry's mother Carrie Shepherd tells E! News of Jennifer. "She was so sweet. When they told him he had a visitor and she popped in he got so excited, he knew exactly who she was. He is a big fan of hers."
Henry's favorite movie of Garner's is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, which features a scene of Alexander's birthday party, so it was only fitting that the last thing Garner told Henry for after his chemo on Friday, "I hope you get your party."
And Henry will indeed get his party on Monday as friends and supporters will line the Shepherd's lawn with balloons tied in golf tees and neighbors plan to line his street with balloons to make an amazing path home for him.
"He is such a trouper and a warrior," Carrie says of her son. "He has been so good with all the procedures and treatments."
In 2014, Henry was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer. And in March 2015, doctors performed a rotationplasty which removed his knee and rotated and reattached his ankle to where his knee had been allowing his ankle to function as a new knee for better movement compared to a prosthetic leg. his knee had been allowing his ankle to function as a new knee for better movement compared to a prosthetic leg.
"We were thrilled to have Jennifer Garner visit with patients on Sunday," Chris Jones, Director of Volunteer Services, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta told E! News in a statement. "Our patients in the Aflac Cancer Center can sometimes spend weeks, even months, in our hospital, so when special guests come to visit the children like Henry Shepherd, it brightens their days and helps with healing and recovery. It's a much needed lift for our kids and their families during a very difficult time."
Henry's family has set up a GiveForward page to help with some of the costs of his procedures, raising close to $20,000 thus far.
—Additional reporting by Holly Passalaqua
Why does Jennifer call herself a geek? Watch the video above to find out!