Drake surprises teen fan battling brain cancer with birthday message
Drake offered words of encouragement to Zelek Murray
Drake is known for showing love to his fans and recently he did it in a personalized way.
The rapper reached out to a young fan and gave him a gift he will never forget. Drake created a personalized message and sent it to 14-year-old Zelek Murray of Toronto via video chat and offered him some kind words for his birthday.
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“I can’t imagine how tough you have to be, and Mustafa let me know how you’re a fan of mine,” said Drake. “Well, I’m a fan of you. I’m a fan of people with heart, and I can tell that you have a lot of heart. I just wanna tell you, stay strong, I love you, and I appreciate you.”
Murray has been battling ependymoma, a rare form of brain cancer since the age of 9. So when fellow Toronto native and songwriter Mustafa the Poet learned of his condition and love for Drake, he reached out to the rapper so they could do something special for the teen. An excited Murray was surprised to hear from the rapper and can be seen panning back and forth between his iPad screen and the people in the room.
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Drake is known for giving back to fans. Back in 2018, he gave away almost $1 million to the Miami community while shooting his video, God’s Plan. And in 2017, he donated $200,000 to a Hurricane Harvey relief.
Murray’s mother, Temeka Ishmael, took to Instagram with a message.
“THANK U @champagnepapi THANK YOU @mustafathepoet ….. You don’t even know how much this ment for US but most importantly “HIM”. His strength is like no other and yes he has his good days and bad days, BUT THIS is exactly what he needed to lift up his Spirit.. to never give up,” she wrote.
She continued, “Because you took time out of your day to put a smile on a 14yr old boys face (ZELEK MURRAY) @wxvy.zk06 you are my hero ?♀️ and many others. Your strength is like no other thank you for always having a smile on your face and making all your nurse laugh even tho your the one in pain.”
“WE ARE FOREVER THANKFUL.”
The family also has a GoFundMe page with a goal of $20,000. They are asking for funds to help support future treatment and medication for Murray.
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