A desperate mother convinced her terrified son — who has Down Syndrome — that if he fled war-torn Mariupol with her, wrestler John Cena would be at the end of their journey. Cena learned about their perilous trek — and her promise — and he made it happen.
Liana Rohozhyna and her son, Misha Rohozhyn, a 19-year-old who has Down Syndrome and cannot speak, fled Mariupol – and she explained to him that they had to keep moving because they were on their way to meet Cena.
“Misha is an example for moving toward your dream by believing in it,” Rohozhyna said.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the family’s journey — which crossed several international borders — included walking through minefields and encounters with Russian occupation forces.
And Cena, upon reading about Misha’s story, traveled to Amsterdam and met the teen there.
Misha, a non-verbal teen with Down’s Syndrome, didn’t understand why his family had to flee Mariupol this year.
To placate him, his mother told him they were travelling to meet John Cena.
Cena heard… and went to Amsterdam to oblige.
Just brilliant. pic.twitter.com/vix2OhkXZs
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) June 11, 2022
“When I read about Misha’s story, it reached out to me,” Cena explained. “Not just Misha’s story, but the story of Misha’s mom as well. Having three days off from work right at the time when I read this story — and being an hour away by air — it turned immediately into ‘we’re going.’ And that means spending an afternoon building blocks and eating cake.”
“That’s a — that’s a special afternoon when it comes to the new friends I was able to make,” he added.
Videos that circulated on social media showed Cena surprising the teen and hugging him, while his mother tearfully thanked the wrestler for making her son’s fantasy a reality.
“What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday. Misha and mother, Liana define #NeverGiveUp,” Cena tweeted. “Thank you to the @WSJ and @WWE who helped make this special visit possible.”
What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday. Misha and his mother, Liana define #NeverGiveUp.
Thank you to the @WSJ and @WWE who helped make this special visit possible. https://t.co/RpriCvjN3K
— John Cena (@JohnCena) June 7, 2022
“If you only watch one thing on Twitter today please make it this. John Cena for the win…” Rex Chapman tweeted.
Virgin Media News’ Gavan Reilly noted that Cena was no stranger to making wishes come true — he has fulfilled more wishes with the Make-a-Wish foundation than anyone else.
“I don’t have a Soundcloud but as John Cena has fulfilled around 700 Make-A-Wish requests – more than anyone else in the world! – it would be cool to donate to @MakeAWish_ie (https://makeawish.ie/donate) or its local equivalent near you,” he said.
The wrestler-turned-actor even continued to help grant wishes while COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were still in place.
.@JohnCena is the best. ❤️
No one has granted more wishes. And a pandemic won’t stop him.
Cena surprises 7-year-old battling life-threatening illness in Florida, via @WFLA: https://t.co/rWWgznGjzs pic.twitter.com/TcyBatl4Km
— Austin Kellerman (@AustinKellerman) May 3, 2020
Source: Dailywire
