This brave boy dreamed big.
A Long Island 12-year-old with a rare and deadly skin disease crossed off the last item on his impressive bucket list last week when he met his idol Ellen DeGeneres while taping a life-changing segment for her talk show.
“It was even more than I thought it would be,” said Robbie Twible, who has also spent time during the last year hanging out with Justin Timberlake, boogying with Broadway stars and batting with the Mets.
“I have learned to believe in my dreams and never give up,” he told the Daily News. “It’s like in ‘Finding Nemo.’ “
The courageous seventh-grader from East Meadow suffers from epidermolysis bullosa, a rare and incurable condition that causes blisters to form all over his body and organs, including his eyes.
He has to eat through a feeding tube and endures excruciating treatments every day, his family said.
“He goes through hell,” his mom, Kathy Twible, told The News on Saturday after the family flew back from the Los Angeles taping.
“He can’t swallow. His esophagus is closing. He has been throwing up all week.”
But watching “Ellen” keeps his mind off the agony.
“He loves your show. It helps him get through the pain,” his dad, Rob Twible, told the comedian during the episode, which airs Monday at 4 p.m. on NBC.
The starstruck tween, who wasn’t supposed to survive after he was born, has beaten the odds.
He also never lost hope of one day meeting his talk-show host hero, who he called “generous and kind” — and entertaining with her pranks.
Robbie had long held out hope to meet DeGeneres.
“It’ll be a lot of steps, but we’ll eventually get there. And it’ll be awesome,” Robbie said in June after he hit the diamond with Mets third baseman David Wright.
Robbie’s roller-coaster year of emotions included touch-and-go esophageal surgery and skin grafts in June, one month before he sang with Broadway idol Jarrod Spector and the cast of the Tony Award-winning musical “Beautiful” and danced onstage with the “Jersey Boys.”
Timberlake then surprised Robbie in July with front-row tickets and a backstage pass for his Hammerstein Ballroom show. The pop star also dedicated his last song of the night, “Mirrors,” to the inspiring boy.
“There’s no reason not to believe in dreams,” mom Kathy said. “Now we just need a cure.
“He’s had all his dreams come true, but we have to beat this.”
