Girl With Life-Threatening Illness Gets Surprise Visit From Patrick Stewart [VIDEO]

Patrick Stewart has been performing on stage since he was 12-years-old, and he's also had success on the big and small screens.  His credits include Charles Xavier in the "X-Men" franchise, Ebenezer Scrooge in 1999's TV movie "A Christmas Carol", King Richard in "Robin Hood: Men in Tights", and Captain Ahab in the mini-series "Moby Dick". He has also lent his voice to TV's "Family Guy" and "Robot Chicken".  But he is best known for his role as Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise on "Star Trek: The Next Generation".

You would think that an actor with his level of fame and success would be above attending "Star Trek" conventions.  Quite the opposite, he and many of his former cast mates from the TV and movie franchise adore their fans.  In fact, Stewart went above and beyond simply being on a panel for a Q & A session with Trekkies.

11-year-old Dawn Garrigus of Statesboro, Georgia suffers mitochondrial disease.  It's a progressive chronic illness causing mental, physical and developmental disabilities.  She was going to attend a sci-fi and fantasy convention in Georgia called Dragon-Con with some help from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Stewart got word that Dawn would be in attendance and decide to surprise her with a personal one on one meet and greet.  "I was shy at first, not sure what to say or talk about, but he kept talking to me. I felt like I was on the Enterprise talking to the captain. And suddenly, I was OK," Dawn told The Huffington Post.

This just goes to show that some actor have a huge heart, and truly care about their fans. Check out the heart-warming photos by clicking here, and watch this hilarious video put together by a "Star Trek" fan of Picard and his crew singing "Let It Snow".