When the then nine-year-old Ruben Phillips underwent major spinal surgery in the US to alleviate the symptoms of his cerebral palsy, the music of the Foo Fighters was a constant soundtrack.
Songs like the US rock band's hit My Hero served as inspiration during the subsequent months of gruelling rehabilitation.
It was the outpouring support of the Medowie youngster's community that raised more than $100,000 to enable Ruben and mother Lyndell Phillips to travel to Boston to undergo the life-transforming surgery in 2021.
That community is again rallying together in a campaign to have Ruben meet his hero, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, when the rock band performs at McDonald Jones Stadium on November 12.
Family friend Aimee Parkinson and wedding celebrant Sarah Chippindale and her wife Meg filmed a social media video about Ruben's love of the Foo Fighters and his dream to meet Grohl.
"Even if it doesn't happen, just this hype around it for him [is amazing]," Aimee said.
"It's just such a great community, with everyone being involved, and they're doing it to help a little boy out, to reach his dreams and for nothing else. I just love that community spirit."
Ruben, who is 14, has been blown away by generosity.
"The response has been incredible," Ruben told the Newcastle Herald.
"It's had more than 12,000 views. So many people are working on trying to get me in front of Dave Grohl."
Ruben's love affair with the Everlong and Best Of You hitmakers began when he was two.
He'd watch his parents' copy of Foo Fighters Live at Hyde Park on DVD five to six times a day, "captivated" by the music.
Due to his cerebral palsy, Ruben's legs were tight, and he used to walk on his toes.
His parents began investigating surgery options to help correct his legs.
"We went through the selection criteria for two years, having these meetings with different doctors and hospitals," Ruben's father Tane Phillips said.
"He wasn't suitable for the surgery in Australia, but in saying that, the way they do the surgery in Australia is probably 20 years behind the way they do it in America and Europe."
Eventually, Boston Children's Hospital was chosen following a recommendation from a Newcastle doctor.
But surgery in Boston was an expensive exercise.
That's where family friend Ms Parkinson stepped in to organise a fundraising drive that included a rock concert in Tanilba Bay.
"We actually got a Foo Fighters cover band, so then Ruben got up on stage and did a drum session with them," Aimee said.
Finally, in 2021, Ruben underwent selective dorsal rhizotomy surgery, which involved cutting nerves affected by spasticity in the bottom of his spine sacrum, near his coccyx.
Five days in hospital post-surgery was followed by five weeks of treatment in Boston as an outpatient and another two months of rehabilitation in Newcastle.
"Now they've cut those nerves off and done all the rehab; it's allowed him to walk flat on his feet," Tane said.
"They're not perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better. The quality of life and how he can move now is a whole lot better."
The Catherine McAuley Catholic College student agreed.
"I'm pretty lucky after all the surgeries that I'm on an upward trajectory. I've improved so much," Ruben said.
Ruben had more surgery in 2022 on his calves at Lingard Private Hospital to further improve his mobility.
The love of the Foo Fighters has fostered a passion for music. And just like his idol, Ruben plays drums and guitar and is a member of school jazz and rock bands.
Ruben has seen Foo Fighters three times in Sydney and last year caught one of Oasis' massive reunion shows.
But he never expected to see Grohl and the band in Newcastle.
"I couldn't believe it," Ruben said.
"I always thought they'd never come up here. They always play the big stadiums."
Asked what a meeting with Grohl in November would mean, the articulate teen said, "It would mean the world.
"I've been asked what I'd say, but I don't really know what I would say to him.
"I would be in shock, I suppose."
The Newcastle Herald contacted the Foo Fighters' Australian tour promoter, Frontier Touring, this week, and Ruben's story was passed on to the band's management.
