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Some hospital patients need bed rest, others physio. An Edmonton boy trying to kick cancer got a masked mercenary.

Ryan Reynolds, star of the newest Marvel Comics movie Deadpool, posted a message to his Facebook page about Connor McGrath, an Edmonton boy diagnosed with High Risk A.L.L., a form of childhood leukemia, in 2013 and relapsed again last May.

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“Ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls. This is my friend, Connor McGrath,” wrote Reynolds alongside a picture of him and McGrath. “He’s quite possibly the biggest ‪#‎Deadpool‬ fan on earth. He was also the first person ever to see the Deadpool film.”

Reynolds came to Edmonton about six weeks ago to show McGrath the movie, which is about a mercenary with a twisted sense of humour.

“The Deadpool was right up his alley because Connor’s the funniest, potty-mouthed Canadian mercenary I’ve ever met,” he wrote.

Though the message is more likely to pull at heart strings than shoot them full of holes, it has already begun to attract attention to a campaignto raise funds for McGrath’s treatment.

Crowdfunding on Friday was just under $20,000, with an $800,000 goal, but it continues to grow.

dlazzarino@postmedia.ca

Twitter.com/SUNDaveLazz