Sofia Sanchez made two wishes for her 11th birthday: She wanted to meet Drake and get a new heart.
The Grammy winner, 31, surprised the girl when he visited her on August 20 at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, where she has been awaiting a heart transplant after being diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a condition that leads to heart failure. She learned on Sunday, August 26, that her other wish has been granted.
“I’m getting a heart!” a visibly emotional Sanchez squealed before hugging her mother in a Facebook video posted by her cousin. “Oh, my God!”
Sanchez first caught Drake’s attention when the hospital posted a video of her doing the viral Kiki Challenge to the rapper’s hit single “In My Feelings” while tethered to an IV pump. He performed at the nearby United Center on her August 18 birthday, and paid a visit to her bedside two days later.
“I didn’t talk for a minute. I was like, ‘Is this real or fake?’” the preteen said in a video posted after the once-in-a-lifetime visit. “He’s like, ‘It’s me, Drake.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, my God.’”
Sanchez and Drake bonded over Justin Bieber, basketball and dogs, according to a statement from the hospital. They also took selfies together, exchanged autographs and sang his song “God’s Plan.” He even gave her a baseball cap bearing the title of his new album, Scorpion.
The girl’s heart transplant surgery is scheduled for Monday, August 27. A family member wrote on a GoFundMe page that her recovery time is expected to be about six to eight weeks.
