When you’re in the emergency room, any surprise visitor is a welcome sight. But when it’s James Hetfield, lead singer of Metallica, then, really, “Nothing Else Matters,” at least for the moment, reports VailDaily.com.
On May 11, Roman Denysiuk, a Ukrainian soldier brought to the Vail Valley for medical treatment through the assistance of locally-founded nonprofit Limbs For Liberty, tripped on ridged carpeting getting out of his wheelchair, landing on his previously broken femur, which had a plate in it. He suffered another fracture, but the silver lining was that his initial fracture wasn’t healing properly, causing issues with fitting his prosthetic. The plate had a broken screw in it, so surgeons removed the plate and screws and replaced it with a rod.
While he was recovering at Vail Health Hospital, Kelli Rohrig, co-founder of Limbs For Liberty, visited him. As she got out of her car, a man walked toward his truck and said, “Good morning.” Turns out it was none other than Hetfield. She immediately explained Denysiuk’s situation and asked him to pay a visit to the soldier.
Hetfield obliged, and, after meeting Denysiuk and Igor Voinyi, Hetfield left a sticky note on Rohrig’s car saying, “You made my day.” But Hetfield really made Denysiuk and Voinyi’s day when he showed up in Denysiuk’s room.
“Metallica’s songs are very popular in Ukraine,” said Olga Milinan, who translated for the men. “Growing up, we all listened to them and dreamed of seeing them.”
In fact, when Denysiuk and Voinyi were asked if they knew who Metallica was, they just rolled their eyes, as if to say, “Does this lady think we live under a rock?” Their verbal answer: “Yes, of course.”
In his short visit, Hetfield “wished the men luck and get better soon,” Milinan said.
Read more at VailDaily.com.
