Boy with Down syndrome fist bumps Bruins

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- He is just the cutest little boy who has been through so much, but he is Boston Strong and looks to the Bruins for inspiration. You may have seen him in a viral video, that has well over 355,000 hits, and counting!

Eight-year-old Liam Fitzgerald is a huge hockey fan and would rather watch the Bruins play than cartoons. On any given day, he can be found watching highlights on his iPad.

Last Halloween, he dressed up as his favorite player Adam McQuaid. McQuaid noticed, and it led to Liam sitting on the Bruins' bench during Tuesday's home-game against the Florida Panthers.

He even got to meet Patrice Bergeron before the game started, and then something really special happened. As the players were leaving the ice at the end of warm-ups, Liam decided to stick his fist out at the players and got a fist bump back from each and every one of them.

At one point, Liam even adorably shakes his hand out of pain. He even got a pat on the head from Daniel Paille.

The video of all this happening was captured by the Bruins and has gone viral.

Liam's dad Bill was thrilled for his son and said, "What is most heart warming is resoundingly people just see him and enjoy seeing him and they enjoy the emotion, and it makes them feel good for the rest of the day."

He went on to say that it was so special to his family because Liam has been through multiple challenges in his short life. He has down syndrome and was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the age of 4.

He's now cancer free, but his family hasn't forgotten the overwhelming pain they watched their son go through. So to now be able to go back and watch over and over again an eight year old's moment of pure bliss is something irreplaceable for them.

"We just take it one day at a time. We never thought when we had Liam we'd have this kind of attention, we never thought we'd have the personality and the joy, so honestly, we're just along for the ride," Bill said.

Cox Media Group