A Brampton teenager dying from a rare form of cancer had his dream come true on Christmas Day when he met LeBron James before the Lakers played the L.A. Clippers.

Corey Groves, a 17-year-old teenager diagnosed with desmoplastic small round cell tumours in May 2019, met his idol during the Lakers’ walk through prior to the game, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported.

Groves, whose dying wish was to shake James’s hand, thanked all his supporters on Instagram for their help in raising publicity to make his dream come true. The teen had set up an account @coreyswish2019 to track his journey, and he has about 13,000 followers on the Instagram page.

“Merry Christmas :) I got my wish. So thankful to everyone that helped make this happen :) @kingjames @coreyswish2019,” Groves posted Wednesday night.

Groves travelled to Los Angeles on Dec. 23 with his mother and 14-year-old brother courtesy of the Children’s Wish Foundation, who paid for his weeklong trip.

Groves was disappointed that he didn’t receive Lakers tickets until Raptors superfan Nav Bhatia stepped in and told him he was going to the game after he learned about the teen’s story.

“I can’t begin to tell you how quickly that turned his frown upside down,” Sherry Williams, organizer of his GoFundMe campaign, posted on the fundraising website last week.

“He’s right back on top of the world and can’t wait for game day.”

According to the fundraising page, which is raising money to help pay for his treatment, Groves has from one to three years to live.

As of Thursday morning, the GoFundMe page for Groves had raised more than $20,000 of the $25,000 goal.

Groves, a student at Central Peel Secondary School, said he thought before he was diagnosed with cancer that he was sick with the flu.

When he went to a clinic, the doctor said Groves’s stomach didn’t feel normal. Groves went for an ultrasound and was referred to the Hospital for Sick Children where he was diagnosed with the rare form of cancer. He is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

There are approximately 300 cases of the disease in the world.

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David Venn is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @davidvenn_

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