Chadwick Boseman at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

I couldn’t write this post without crying...a lot. Chadwick Boseman and I both visited St. Jude for the first time in 2018. I went as a new ambassador for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (happing right now!), while he went fresh off wowing the entire world as the star of Black Panther.

But, we now know that the battles we saw him fight on screen were nothing compared to the private battle that he was fighting against colon cancer every day. He’s pictured below with Zoe, 22, who was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor at the time, and who like the rest of the patients, had no idea that Chadwick would be attending the Black Panther-themed party that St. Jude hosted.

Chadwick Boseman and St. Jude patient Zoe/Courtesy of St. Jude

“Chadwick stood in the Pavilion to meet all the families there to see him, walked through St. Jude and visited Target House. Imagine the inner and physical strength it took for him to do that! The entire time he did it with a smile on his face. He was a hero in his movies and is a hero to us at St. Jude.”

Chadwick Boseman and St. Jude patient family/Courtesy of St. Jude

This just goes to show you that no matter what you’re going through, God will always give you the strength to be a blessing to someone else. Click here to read Zoe’s story on St. Jude Inspire about the profound effect that meeting Chadwick had on her life and the beautiful message that she now sends to his family.

Rest in Power, Chad. You are sorely missed.