Captain America Comes Home, Visits Boy Battling Rare Brain Condition

Photo via WBZ/WCBS Boston Facebook page

At nine years old, Kenny Botting is battling a brain condition like a superhero. The Connecticut boy is recovering from brain surgery he had in the fall, and while doing so, he’s staying at Christopher’s Haven, next door to Mass. General Hospital, reported WCBS-Boston.

This week, a TV superhero visited Botting, and it’s his favorite movie star. Chris Evans, who plays Captain America, was back at his home in Sudbury to attend a benefit for Christopher’s Haven at Fenway Park, and dropped in to give autographs and gifts to Botting.

Realistic, though, Botting knows it’s pretty rare to make a living as a superhero. He wants to be a police officer, and not only did Evans visit him in the recent week, but several officers from local police departments hung out with the boy, reported MassLive Worcester.

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While many media outlets are reporting that Botting has cancer, his GoFundMe site states that while his condition is very serious, and very rare, it is not technically cancer. Botting has what is called craniopharyngioma, which is a tumor that sits on your pituitary stock, optic nerve, and hypothalamus. Botting underwent surgery on Sept. 29 to resect the tumor. The GoFundMe page has taken in more than $8,500 so far to help Botting.

Christopher’s Haven is a home for kids and their families while they battle cancer at local hospitals. As it says on the website, “Our home is more than a place to stay, it’s a support system to help with things large and small, and a community where families can be together, share a laugh, be comforted, and comfort others. “

Evans stars as Captain America “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” and in the upcoming “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Captain America: Civil War.” He’s played other superheroes, such as Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four movies. According to Wikipedia, Evans grew up in Sudbury, and has a sister who teaches drama at Lincoln-Sudbury High School.