Right before his 24th birthday, Chris Baker was diagnosed with cancer. It was news he never expected to hear.
"Cancer is one of those things where you always think a friend of a friend is dealing with it. You never really expect it to fall into your own lap," Baker said.
Baker is a Star Wars super fan. He has loved the movie series since he was little boy. Like many others, he was excited for the latest movie, The Last Jedi, to come out in theaters.
A few weeks into his chemotherapy treatments, he got sick and wasn't sure he would be able to see the movie in theaters. Baker said he was released from the hospital the Thursday the movie came out, rested for a few days, and ended up seeing it twice.
"The doctors said it would be a risk going anywhere with a lot of germs, like a movie theater," he said.
Baker solved that problem by covering himself up well, dressed as Kylo Ren. As he watched the movie, he thought about all the kids with cancer stuck in the hospital unable to leave. He started a social media campaign, asking Disney to stream the movie so other super fans in hospitals won't have to miss out.
He also started a petition on Change.org to help get his message out. So far, he has more than 500 signatures.
His efforts ended up catching the attention of Mark Hamill and Laura Dern. Both tweeted him their well wishes.
Baker says as he gets older, the meaning of Star Wars is less about the light sabers, and more about the message of hope, something that has been especially important to him lately.
