Dwayne Johnson has given us yet another reason to fall totally and completely in love with him.
Although we wish this reason never had to be.
The action star took to Instagram on Tuesday in order to pay tribute to Gabriel “Tater” Singleton, a seven-year old fan of Johnson’s who had bravely been battling cancer.
Sadly, Singleton recently lost this battle.
“Many of you know the story of strong lil’ Tater who’s wish it was to meet me,” the actor began his message.
Because Johnson had invited Singleton to the set of Johnson’s latest movie, a big screen version of the TV show Baywatch, many followers out there were familiar with his story.
Johnson continued:
“We go thru life and work hard, enjoy some successes, learn from our mistakes, provide for and protect our families – as a man there’s some things I’m 100% certain of. Those are things I/we can control.
“Then there’s some things, as much as it pains me, we just can’t.”
Johnson went on to question why such terrible things sometimes happen to such great people.
“I don’t know why this lil’ 7yr old boy was chosen to battle cancer. Fighting it hard core daily. Was it so his fight could inspire everyone around him?
“Was it ensure we would wake up everyday with a greater gratitude for life and hug our loved ones that much stronger?
“I believe everything happens for a reason – but sometimes it requires us to have faith to look deeper to know what they are.”
How very true.
After informing fans that “a few days ago, Lil’ Tater passed on, earned his angel wings and is no longer in pain,” Johnson concluded as follows:
Our strength and love go out to Tater’s mom, dad and sisters whom I had the privilege of spending time with on our set of Baywatch…
We can’t control what’s around the corner, but we can ALWAYS control our effort and how we choose to LIVE and LOVE in this unpredictable, crazy and amazing thing we call life.
After writing this post I’m counting my blessings and motivated to be productive today and run thru a wall like a maniac.
Which would DEFINITELY make Tater laugh.
Well, you just made us cry, Dwayne. But for all the right reasons.
Earlier this year, Johnson stopped production on Baywatch to meet with another special young fan.
The stories of these children are heartbreaking.
But it helps to know there’s someone like Dwayne Johnson out there to make them feel better.