“My wish was spectacular,” said Nikolai, who received the hottest ticket in the universe attending Marvel’s Hollywood purple carpet premiere of Avengers: Endgame at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Alongside Hollywood royalty, Nikolai was among the elite to experience the epic blockbuster film, having his wish come true through Kids Wish Network, a children’s charity that grants wishes for kids with life-threatening illnesses.

Nikolai and his dad arrived at the Avengers: Endgame premiere in style, being chauffeured by Top Shelf Concierge Services. They were escorted to an exclusive area where Nikolai collected personal autographs and spoke with the massive cast of stars. “We were in the best location,” said his dad Thomas. When Nikolai met Scarlett Johansson, he gave her a plush Kids Wish Network Hug-O bear. Johansson smiled, joyfully clutched his bear tightly, and told Nikolai, “I’m going to snuggle with it during the movie.” When asked why he gave it to her, Nikolai jokingly said, “Do I need a better reason than it’s Scarlett Johansson?” He also gifted Robert Downey Jr. a shirt that was designed with his personalized drawing of Iron Man. Downey Jr. said, “This is for me? I’m going to remember you.” 

Nikolai met Hollywood’s top brass…  Disney CEO Bob Iger, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, and Marvel Directors The Russo Brothers (Anthony Russo and Joe Russo), along with the vast A-list cast and celebrity guests including Chris Hemsworth, Liam Hemsworth, Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt, Paul Rudd, Matt Damon, Chris Evans, Miley Cyrus, Josh Brolin, Clark Gregg, Anthony Mackie, Benedict Wong, Chloe Bennet, Cobie Smulders, Danai Gurira, David Dastmalchian, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Henstridge, Elizabeth Olsen, Henry Simmons, Jeremy Renner, Karen Gillan, Ken Jeong, Letitia Wright, Mark Ruffalo, Ming-Na Wen, Pom Klementieff, Ross Marquand, Sean Gunn, Shaun Toub, and Tessa Thompson.

“My favorite part of his wish was watching him going from not smiling, to not being able to control his smiling,” said his dad. 

They also reveled in luxurious accommodations at The London West Hollywood, and received a private meet and greet with Churchill, one of the hotel’s famed bulldog mascots. 

Nikolai has familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, an extremely rare condition where the immune system produces too many activated immune cells. He’s been through several surgeries and suffers from extensive nerve damage. It took him 18 months of rigorous therapy to simply learn to walk again.

“We were all excited to plan Nikolai’s wish. An event of this magnitude will never happen again in our lifetime. How wonderful that he was able to experience something so extraordinary with his dad,” said Kids Wish Network Executive Director Tam Lai.

Kids Wish Network is a national charitable organization dedicated to infusing hope, creating happy memories, and improving the quality of life for children with life-threatening conditions and struggling with life-altering situations. KWN provides for trip expenses, meals, accommodations, and additional spending monies to all wish families whenever traveling as applicable. Visit www.kidswishnetwork.org to learn about our different programs, and refer a child now.