Ryan Reynolds sends video message to Tyneside boy recovering from open heart surgery

A family in Newcastle have been left amazed after getting a message from Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds.

Seb Hollingsworth was just 16-weeks-old when he had to undergo life-saving open heart surgery at the city's Freeman Hospital.

Since then, his parents Ivan and Nadine Hollingsworth have tirelessly fundraised for the Children's Heart Unit to help other children with heart defects.

Seb, who is now 13-years-old, recently had open heart surgery to improve his heart function.

He is a big fan of the Marvel universe and his recovery has now been helped along by no other than Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds.

Mr Hollingsworth said: "Over the years we’ve done so much fundraising for others, we’ve been doing this for a long, long time and have managed to get things for other children, including messages from celebrities but we’ve never asked for anything for ourselves.

"But last night I was sat at Seb’s bedside, and I was so overwhelmingly proud of him, and I thought ‘I’m just going to tweet and see if I can get him something amazing - so I sent out a tweet with some pictures and then went back to his bedside’.

"It blew up over night, with so many people tagging different Marvel stars, which was amazing, to think Seb’s story had connected with so many people.

"I had nipped home to do some work, and I was teaching a few webinars, and my phone would not stop vibrating. When I could finally pick it up, it was full of people saying ‘Ryan Reynolds wants to talk to you, check your DMs'.

"So I sent him the picture of Deadpool above Seb’s bed and he sent us back a video, and he and Seb have been sending a few messages back and forth."

He continued: "It’s hard to explain how he feels because he is so so exhausted but it really meant the world to him. And Ryan has since sent another follow up video which I can’t share, but it definitely made him chuckle."

"It’s just amazing that he’s taken the time to do it, and it’s not just for show, it means a lot."

"Seb has been through so much, he’s been shifted from bed, had different wires attached and prodded and poked, and he’s just been the most polite young man, still saying please and thank you to all the nurses, they’re amazed how polite he is," he added.

"If he ever had the excuse to be grumpy teenager, it would be now - but he's just been so inspiring.

"I am so proud of him, he’s so brave and I just wanted something to make him feel like the most important person in the world."

Seb will spend the next few days recovering in hospital - and his family have their fingers crossed he will be home soon.

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