LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It's always great to see a smile on a kid's face, especially those that are going through a difficult health journey.
For the last five years, Shriner's Children's Hospital have recruited some "super" help to spread some joy to patients.
Trading in his web shooters for a harness, Spider-Man stopped by the hospital to visit with kids while also cleaning the windows outside the hospital (might blow the secret identity but we won't say anything).
After his visit, we were able to catch up with Spidey who was happy to make the kids day.
“Just a lot of excited kids really happy to see Spider-Man come visit them at the hospital," Spider-Man said.
One of those excited kids was Liam Jergenson who to say is a Spider-Man superfan is a super understatement.
“It was exciting. I like how he swings around and fights bad guys. Iron man comes close but not quite as cool," Jergenson said.
While he sits there and shares his thoughts on the Spider-Man movie franchise (No Way Home is the best one in his expert opinion) Liam will also tell you about the journey he's had over the last year.
Liam has a rare neurological degenerative disorder that only 400 people have been diagnosed with world wide.
“It tightens the muscle inside my leg. If I didn’t have these (braces), my ankle would be turned in like I was walking on the inside of my foot," Liam said.
The 13-year-old has undergone three different surgeries over the last year to help with his condition.
Three times Liam has had to relearn to use his legs after going under the knife.
“First I have to relearn how to walk. Then I had to relearn how to put my foot up and down. Then I had to learn how to move my toes. Then I had to do that all over again because I had another surgery," Liam said.
It's a lot for anyone to go through, let alone a young teen, but Liam stays positive taking every challenge in stride.
His mom Melissa feels her son feeds off the energy of superheroes like our friendly neighborhood webslinger, seeing what they do to protect others and wants to have the same superhero energy.
“Our motto with Liam is we can do hard things. The superheroes to him are important because he sees them do the hard things like fighting all the bad guys. He’s an amazing kid," Melissa Jergenson said.
Shriner's Children's Hospital has brought Spider-Man to see kids for the last five years and hope his Spidey Sense will bring him back for a sixth year in 2024.
