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A Queensland boy named Corona who wrote to Tom Hanks about being bullied over his name has received a reply and a gift from the Hollywood superstar.
Eight-year-old Corona De Vries, from the Gold Coast, wrote to Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson earlier this month after the couple returned to the US.
They had spent around three weeks being treated on the Gold Coast after contracting COVID-19.
“I heard on the news you and your wife had caught the coronavirus,” Corona, who’s named after the outermost layer of the sun, wrote to Hanks.
“Are you ok?
“I love my name but at school people call me the coronavirus.
“I get very sad and angry when people call me this.”
Corona posted the letter on April 6 and this week received a reply from Hanks.
“Your letter made my wife and I feel so wonderful,” Hanks wrote.
“Thank you for being such a good friend. Friends make their friends feel good when they are down.
“I saw you on TV, even though I was back in the USA already – and all healthy.
“Even though I was no longer sick, getting your letter made me feel even better.”
Hanks signed off: “You’ve got a friend in me!”
But the letter wasn’t all Corona received, with Hanks gifting him a Corona brand typewriter he kept with him while recovering from coronavirus – which he also used to type the letter.
“I thought this typewriter would suit you,” Hanks said.
“I had taken it to the Gold Coast, and now, it is back – with you.
“Ask a grown up how it works. And use it to write me back.”
This article first appeared on 7NEWS and has been republished here with permission.
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