"Christian made these arrangements for us personally and ensured we were treated like royalty." -Charlene Barber
(Youngstown, OH)—When 4-year-old Jayden Barber's parents attempted to fulfill the last of their son's three wishes, which included a puppy, a trip to the beach, and then to meet Batman (Christian Bale); they knew it was a long shot.
But, they put out the "Bat Signal" anyway.
After all, this was their precious little boy, who had already endured so much as he battled two kinds of cancer. The first seemed to go into remission after chemo two years ago, but then Jayden developed another form of the deadly disease.
This summer, the Barbers received the worst news—there was nothing more doctors could do for Jayden.
That's when his family went into action to make sure his last 6 months would be ones filled with good memories.
But, getting one of the highest profile actors to come to their home town?
Daunting a task as it was, Jayden's parents didn't back down, and neither did the boy's community, friends and strangers, who came aboard to help spread the word with a Facebook page over 32,000 members strong.
The courageous boy's city honored him with his own special day on August 23rd; Jayden Barber Day, and he was visited by a costumed version of the Caped Crusader, got to light real "Bat Signal" and even rode in a Bat Mobile.
And then Jayden's parents heard from the real Batman—Christian Bale—who messaged them an invite to "meet Batman in Disneyland."
Last week, Bale flew Jayden and his family to Anaheim, CA; an early birthday present for one of his biggest fans.
Jayden's mom Charlene wrote on the Facebook page: "Finally can share!!! Christian sent us to LA and we had lunch at Disney club 33 on wed," she wrote.
"He and his family were so awesome and down to earth!!!" Charlene added, "They talked movies and super Heroes and he was genuinely happy to hear about everything Jayden wanted to tell him. Christian, his wife and daughter are three of the most beautiful people we have ever met! Christian made these arrangements for us personally and ensured we were treated like royalty. I don't have even one negative thing to say about them. I can tell you that they were just as impressed w/ Jayden as Jayden was w/ them :)"
The family had received news that Jayden's cancer had gone into remission prior to the visit with Christian Bale, but a recent post on the Facebook page is asking for more prayer for Jayden, as he may have entered another downward trend.
To see the Facebook page set up for Jayden, log onto: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BatSignal4Jayden/