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SALT LAKE CITY — "The Incredible Hulk" star Lou Ferrigno helped create a special memory for a family when he shared the spotlight with a little boy in the green hero’s costume Thursday.
Seven-year-old Xander Zufelt and his family were invited to the Salt Lake Comic Con by the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The boy was born with multiple complex congenital heart defects and has undergone additional surgeries on his pancreas and ears.
He borrowed a Hulk costume to wear to the event’s opening press conference and event, where his mom pointed out Ferrigno and asked if Xander remembered him from his recurring role as the green Avenger. The boy asked permission to say hello and then worked his way through the crowd to see the star.
“Lou was amazing,” said Xander’s mother Carman Zufelt. “He was really sweet — he didn’t say ‘not now’ or ‘hold on a minute,’ he just immediately shook his hand, gave him a little squeeze and they did the Hulk pose.”
“When everything was done, Xander was still standing there with everybody and all of the other guys were talking to him, but Lou grabbed him and said, ‘Come up with me to the front of the stage so everybody can get a picture.’”
Ferrigno got down on one knee and held Xander as they posed for the cameras. One of the photos was posted to KSL.com Thursday. Zufelt said it was an amazing experience.
“I always watched ("The Incredible Hulk") with my dad and I wanted to be the Hulk — to grow up to be a big green guy,” she said. “I didn’t, but I did grow up to be strong, and part of that is because of what we have had to deal with for Xander.”
Xander had his first open-heart surgery when he was only four weeks old. Since then, he has had many more and a pacemaker was installed. When his family met with Xander’s cardiologist earlier in 2014, the doctor suggested it might be the right time to consider having a wish granted.
Lou grabbed him and said, 'Come up with me to the front of the stage so everybody can get a picture.'
–Carman Zuleft
His family wasn’t sure if Xander would qualify for the Make-a-Wish program since he is currently doing well, but he was eligible because he will need a full heart transplant when his heart decides to stop working, according to his mother.
For his wish, Xander will be visiting Disney World, Legoland and the beach with his parents and four sisters for Halloween, which is his favorite holiday. He has his own unique version of the Hulk costume on the way for the trip. A friend volunteered to make Xander a custom costume — with some modifactions.
“He wants the big, green muscles and he wants to be Hulk, but he wants to wear a little pink tutu with it,” she said. “That’s kind of his personality — making jokes and just having a good time. He thinks it’s really funny, and he wanted to make people smile, because that is his favorite thing.”
