Tim McGraw Helps Dad With Stage 4 Cancer Realize Dying Wish
Have your tissues handy for this one.
Tim McGraw helped one father with stage 4 glioblastoma fulfill his dying wish.
Michael Hugo, 37, was diagnosed with the terminal brain cancer in April of 2022. Last month, he spoke with a local ABC affiliate in Florida about his hope to capture the country superstar's attention.
He knew that "Live Like You Were Dying" was written about McGraw's father, who passed from glioblastoma, and he hoped the singer might film a duet of his song "My Little Girl" as a surprise for Hugo's young daughters; Bridget, 6, and Brooke, 7.
“I know the statistics,” he said at the time. “The statistics for glioblastoma are a median survival of 14 months; half the people are dead by 14 months. The five-year survival is four or five percent.”
While his scans are currently stable following surgery and radiation, he says he's living "scan to scan" and is preparing for the worst. He's been composing letters for his daughters to open on birthdays and other milestones, but what he really wants is to be a part of their wedding day.
“I did the daddy-daughter dance in Wellington, and that was awesome,” he said. “That kind of made me think, 'Man, I want to dance with my kids at their wedding.'”
On Feb. 9, a video plea was uploaded to Facebook, where Hugo revealed he would "fight hard" to be present but knew that, statistically, it was unlikely. He requested anybody with connections to help get the video in front of McGraw's team, hoping the singer could help him create a memorable video to play in his absence.
Late last night, McGraw revealed on Instagram that he had heard the plentiful calls.
"Thanx to everyone who shared Mike Hugo’s video on social media and tagged me in the comments. So glad we were able to actually get together in person, meet this amazing family, and make it happen!" he wrote alongside a video of interview clips and a sneak peek at the singer meeting with the whole family.
"Mike is saving the videos for his daughters’ future weddings... what a special thing to be a part of," McGraw added.
It's not the first time McGraw has gone out of his way to do something kind for a fan.
In 2016, he surprised a bride by performing "My Little Girl" live for her father-daughter dance.
"I would expect nothing less from a class act like Tim. You're an inspiration to us all. God Bless. 🙌," one Instagrammer wrote in response to the news.
"I’m not crying … you are… well… I am…😢❤️," another spoke for us all.
