LEXINGTON, Ky. — All Elite Wrestling held its first ever wrestling show in Lexington at Rupp Arena on Wednesday night. But prior to the show, wrestlers made a special stop to say hello to some special fans at Kentucky Children’s Hospital.

Patients at KCH received a special surprise as wrestlers and other staff from AEW greeted them in their hospital rooms. 

“He has an optic glioma and non-cancerous tumor on one of his optic nerves and we’ve been here 8 or 9 months now,” said one KCH patient’s parent, Lauren Chapman.

Younger wrestlers on the roster, such as Kris Statlander and Dasha Kuret, teamed up with professional wrestling royalty Jake the Snake Roberts and handed out goodie bags to the kids and their families. The wrestlers visited various parts of the children’s hospital, including outpatient services, where they met Lauren and her son, Liam.

“He has a genetic condition that pre-disposes him to the optic glioma, so it wasn’t unexpected. It’s just disappointing that he has to have more interventions than most people with his condition do,” Chapman said.

Wrestlers said events like this are surreal; having children they just met look up to them as real-life superheroes. For patients and families like the Chapmans, it breaks up the monotony of weekly hospital visits.

“I think he actually enjoyed it. He loved meeting new people and having some new friends to play with for a few minutes,” Chapman said.

Although the visits with each patient might be brief, the wrestlers said it’s rewarding to put a smile on a child’s face and create lifetime memories.