Chewbacca might not speak a human language, but Austin knew immediately that the beloved Star Wars character was giving him good news — that he was to receive a heart transplant.
“We got a heart? Do we seriously have a heart?” 15-year-old Austin Eggleston of Pontiac, Ill., could be heard exclaiming at the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago before jumping up and high-fiving Chewbacca.
Austin, who is confined to the hospital because he is hooked up to complicated machines for his health, is a huge Star Wars fan.
With that in mind, his pediatric cardiologist Dr. Phillip Thrush promised Austin that when a heart was available, he would deliver the good news while wearing a Chewbacca costume.
Over the weekend, he fulfilled his promise in fluent Wookie.
Austin could be seen in a video recorded by Kathleen Keenan jumping out of his bed, laughing with joy as people in the background are heard warning, “Careful, don’t disconnect yourself.”
Austin is also a big fan of the Avengers film series, and has appealed to Marvel Studios on social media to hold a screening of Avengers: Infinity War for patients of Lurie Children's Hospital who cannot leave the facility.
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