A boy can only dream! But this one, came true!

Our little boy was born on March 19th 2011. It was my 28th week of pregnancy. The doctors said he has only 20 percent chance of survival because he weighed only 600 gms. The doctors presented us with the option of pulling the plug on our son since he was struggling but when I held him for the first time, I felt like he was telling me, "Please don't give up on me amma.." I decided at that moment that I will take care of my son all my life no matter for however long it is. I promised him that we'll make every single moment count. Since that day, that is exactly what my husband and I have done as parents. The only motto of our lives is to keep our little boy happy and safe. We taught him to dream big and to imagine limitless. Our son grew up to be a very kind hearted and positive child. But due to his physical limitations, he was left out of his peer groups of friends often. That's when he discovered a new character when we were vacationing in Kerala. We were watching "Love Action Drama" in a theater and I noticed he wasn't cheering for the lead actor, but his friend Aju Varghese. He was laughing so hard at every scene of Aju Varghese and jumping on the seat when the song "Kudukku pottiya kupayam.." played. My child was smitten by Aju Varghese. It was love at first sight! That night I went in his room to tuck him into bed and as I was just about to open the door, I heard him speak with someone. I stepped inside slowly and asked him who was he talking to. He said casually, "it's Aju Uncle. I was talking to him about the movie." I joined him and congratulated Aju Varghese for the movie. It made my son so happy when I validated his imagination. After that it became a routine. He would keep talking to his new  imaginary friend. Even after we returned to US, he continued his new found friendship. In his imagination Aju Uncle lived with us. He would accompany my son to his therapies and also sleep with our son in his room. So I finally thought of giving it a try and reach out to the actor but had no clue where to begin. My son suggested tagging the actor on Instagram. I thought, "well, he or his PR team might at least "like" the video. So we shot a video of our son saying how much he loves Aju Varghese. To our surprise, Aju Varghese commented on that video and he also sent us a personal message asking for our number to talk to our son. We were speechless. He didn't even need to react to the video, but there it was, a celebrity actually reaching out to us to talk to our boy! He called us and spoke to our son. He was very understanding of his special needs and spoke to our son accordingly with so much empathy. 

It's been 3 years since then and they've constantly been in touch. My son is 12 years old now and anything worth sharing, he shares it first with his Aju uncle. Even we, his parents come 2nd in his list of priorities but we have gladly accepted that position. He still continues to be Aju's biggest fan and has his room filled with Aju's photos.

He has a 4 ft tall portrait of Aju Varghese in his room.We as parents couldn't be happier that someone else besides us is giving our son this much importance.Finally, a few days ago,after 3 years, our son’s dream came true and he met his idol. The moment was nothing like we had imagined. Aju Varghese welcomed us to his home with open arms. His family was so warm and welcoming. The kids called our son "Chetta" (big brother) and we were overwhelmed. 

I tried hard to keep myself from crying because I didn't want to ruin this precious moment. Our little boy so proudly showed his Aju Uncle how he can walk for a short distance without his  crutch. He sang for Aju Uncle a song from the latter's movie "Saajan Bakery". That evening was nothing short of magical. It's a core memory created right there and he will never forget this moment his entire life. A cherished story he will tell his grandkids one day. I just hope this friendship keeps growing and continues lighting up my boy. I know Aju Uncle will be around to console him when he has first heartbreak and tell him that this is just first of many and it's a part of life. We're so grateful to Aju Varghese for loving our boy so much and making him a part of their life. I thank Aju Varghese, his beautiful wife and his kids for being such a crucial part of our son's journey. God bless!