Terminally ill Eminem fan dies day after rapper's visit

A terminally ill Detroit-area teenager who was surprised by a visit from rapper Eminem has died.

Rainbow Connection Executive Director Mary Grace McCarter says Tuesday that the parents of 17-year-old Gage Garmo told her that he died Monday in their home in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

Gage had a wish fulfilled when Detroit native Eminem stopped by Sunday evening. The Detroit Free Press says the pair sat in the family's living room talking about hip-hop and football.

"Gage sat up with a grin on his face," Rainbow Connection's Ingrid Todt told the paper. "His family hadn't seen their son do that in such a long time."

Gage was diagnosed with bone cancer three years ago, when he was a freshman at Rochester High School.

Friends and classmates used social media and the hashtag #GetGageGarmoToMeetEminem to spread Gage's wish to meet his musical hero, after he learned last week that he had just days left to live.

The visit, Todt told the Free Press, was "very special and very quiet at the same time."

"It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen," she added. "The stars aligned, and Gage's wish came true."

Michigan-based charity Rainbow Connection set up the meeting.